[00:00:06]
WELL, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR JOINING US TODAY.
THE DAY WE'RE BACK TO OUR VIRTUAL MEETING, INSTEAD OF IN-PERSON, UNFORTUNATELY I HOPE EVERYONE'S FAMILIES ARE SAFE AND THAT EVERYONE IS TAKING THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS.
THIS IS OUR WAY OF TRYING TO STAY AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE.
SO WITH THIS, I LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
AND, UM, I LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP OFFERS, UH, SERVICES FOR AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.
SO IF ANYONE EVER NEEDS ANY TRANSLATION OR INTERPRETATION SERVICES TO PLEASE REACH OUT TO CHLOE MAXWELL AND SHE WOULD HELP ASSIST IN ANY OF THOSE SERVICES THAT YOU NEED, UH, FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, BEFORE WE MOVE THAT, BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO PUBLIC COMMENTS, I'D LIKE TO CLARIFY THE PROCESS FOR MAKING PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP MEETINGS AND CONSISTENT WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, WHICH PROVIDES THE PUBLIC COMMENT ON A PARTICULAR AGENDA ITEM MAY BE MADE BEFORE OR DURING THE BOARD'S CONSIDERATION OF THAT ITEM AND THE BOARD PROCEDURES POLICY WE ADOPTED ON MAY 19TH, ALL PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ANY AGENDA ITEM MAY ONLY BE MADE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING IN EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE A TOTAL OF THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK TO ALL ITEMS OF WHICH THE SPEAKER HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
[I. Public Comment]
TO WELCOME AS THE FIRST SPEAKER FOR PUBLIC COMMENT IS MS. PENTEL.YOU WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK ON ALL OF YOUR ITEMS. UM, AND WELCOME.
IS THIS MS. BENTO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, I CAN.
CAN EVERYBODY HEAR HER? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.
YEAH, I DON'T THINK SHE'S HEARING US.
UM, CAN EVERYONE GIVE HER A THUMBS UP? YEAH.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, WE CAN.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I DON'T THINK YOU CAN HEAR ME.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU AND EVERYONE IS GIVING YOU A THUMBS UP THAT.
CAN YOU HEAR ME, CHLOE? MAYBE WHAT WE COULD, MAYBE WHAT WE COULD DO IS, UH, HANG UP ON THE COMMENT OR CALL HER BACK AND DOLLAR BACK IN BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT'S COMING THROUGH MUCH DELAYED.
SO THERE IS A LONG DELAY NOT COMING THROUGH WHEN I SPEAK.
I DON'T, I DON'T THINK IT'S WORKING PROPERLY.
UH, BUT I'LL, I'LL TRY TO SPEAK.
WE CAN HEAR YOU AND YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR IT.
THE PROJECT PROPOSAL, AS IT IS NOW
[00:05:01]
INCLUDES A LOT MORE TUNNELS THAN WAS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED IN, IN THE, IN THE PROJECT THAT WENT TO THE VOTERS AND IN THE, UH, CITIZEN OUTREACH, THEY SAY THAT THE, THE COSTS WILL GO UP, BUT THEY DON'T SAY HOW MUCH THE COST WILL GO UP OR HOW MUCH, THE, HOW MUCH THE TIME WILL BE DELAYED AS A RESULT OF ALL THESE EXTRA TUNNELS.I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU TELL THE PUBLIC AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, HOW MUCH THE COST WILL GO UP AND WHERE THAT MONEY WILL COME FROM.
WILL IT COME FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE PROJECT THAT WILL HAVE TO BE CUT BACK? WILL YOU GO BACK TO THE VOTERS FOR ANOTHER BOND? IS IT PART OF THE CONTINGENCY? DO YOU THINK YOU'LL GET THAT MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? WHERE WILL THAT MONEY COME FROM? IT'S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS KIND OF THING HAPPENS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND I FOLLOW PROJECTS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
IT'S NOT AT ALL UNHEARD OF, BUT IT CAN RESULT IN OPPOSITION TO THE PROJECT.
IF PEOPLE FEEL THAT YOU'RE NOT BEING HONEST AND UPFRONT WITH THEM ABOUT, ABOUT THE COSTS AND ALSO ABOUT THE DELAYS, I WOULD ALSO REALLY LIKE TO HEAR MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE NEED FOR THE TUNNEL UNDER THE RIVER.
THE, THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING A BRIDGE IS THAT IT PROVIDES ACCESS IN ADDITION TO THE PEDESTRIANS BICYCLISTS AND THE BUSES.
AND I'D REALLY LIKE TO HEAR DISCUSSION PROS AND CONS OF A BRIDGE VERSUS A TUNNEL.
THE WAY THE PRESENTATION IS BEING MADE TO THE PUBLIC IS THAT IT HAS TO BE A TUNNEL AND THAT'S COMPLETE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO OPTION.
I UNDERSTAND THE REASONS FOR THE TUNNEL, BUT I REALLY THINK THAT COULD USE MORE DISCUSSION.
UM, FINALLY I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL OF THE EFFORTS OF DAVE DOGS.
HE PASSED AWAY LAST MONTH, HE WORKED BETWEEN 30 AND 40 YEARS OF HIS LIFE TOWARD HAVING A LIGHT RAIL PROJECT, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAVE NOW WITH PROJECT CONNECT.
AND I THINK THAT THE PROJECT THAT WE HAVE NOW IN FRONT OF US IS IN PART DUE TO HIS EFFORTS OVER SO MANY YEARS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS.
UM, WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND, UH, WE WILL, UH, DOES ANYBODY ON THE BOARD HAVE ANY FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS FOR MS. PATEL? SHOULD WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SPEAKER THEN? UM, OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MS. JOSEPH, MS. JOSEPH, CAN YOU HEAR US? THANK YOU.
MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS I'M AS AN OPIATE JOSEPH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE MY COMMENTS PREFACE BY A QUESTION THAT COUNCIL MEMBER AND TEREA ASKED IN THE OPERATIONS MEETING BEFORE YOURS CONVENED, WANTS TO KNOW WHO'S FUNDING.
WHAT, AND I TOO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE SAME.
MY COMMENTS ARE SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE STAFFING IN FYI 2018.
JACKIE NUREMBERG WAS THE MANAGER OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT WITH 3.3 YEARS, EARNING $90,000 FYI 2021 UNDER ATT SHE'S THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, 6.1 YEARS, $150,000.
THAT SEEMS OUTRAGEOUS TO ME IN FYI 2018 YANNIS BANKS, $49,000 INVOLVEMENT SPECIALIST.
ONE, 1.1 YEAR, NO TRANSIT EXPERIENCE.
HIS SALARY HAS DOUBLED UNDER ATP AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT MANAGER.
I DON'T THINK THIS IS WHAT THE VOTERS APPROVED.
AND I CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHERE THE FUNDING IS COMING FROM TO INCENTIVIZE THESE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT, OUTREACH COORDINATORS AT SUCH A HIGH COST MARCH 17TH, 2021 DIRECTOR, RANDY CLARK SAID THAT ATP DOESN'T EXIST AS AN ENTITY FROM A FEDERAL POINT OF VIEW WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT DVE.
SO IT IS CONFUSING TO THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE FUNDING IS COMING FROM.
IT WAS CONFUSING WHEN MR. COLLIN GAVE THE BUDGET UPDATE TO CAPITOL METRO'S OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.
AND I DO UNDERSTAND, HE MENTIONED THAT OCTOBER, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A LONG RANGE PRESENTATION, CAPITOL METRO'S BUDGET DIRECTOR SAID THAT, I GUESS YOU'LL DISCUSS THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT.
THEN MAYBE IF YOU COULD FLUSH IT OUT FOR THE PUBLIC, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
[00:10:01]
BUT I STILL THINK THAT $250,000 IS EXCESSIVE BECAUSE THE CEO, WHEN RANDY CLARK WAS HIRED BY CAPITAL METRO EARNED $285,000, AND YOU HAVE AN OUTREACH SPECIALIST EARNING JUST UNDER $30,000 LESS.MY LAST COMMENT WILL BE, UM, FRAUD.
ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE FRAUD IS TRYING TO GET SOMETHING OF VALUE THROUGH WILLFUL MISREPRESENTATION.
AND SO I JUST WANT YOU TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
AND I WILL LASTLY TELL YOU THAT RIDERSHIP AND COVERAGE ARE DIFFERENT WHEN CAPITAL METRO'S BOARD WAS BRIEFED JULY 25TH, 2016, JARED WALKER, THE PHD WHO REDESIGNED, UH, HOUSTON, UH, SYSTEM.
THIS IS MY LAST COMMENT SAID THAT RIDERSHIP IS WHEN YOU'RE THINKING LIKE A BUSINESS AND YOU CHOOSE THE TARGET AUDIENCE THAT YOU WANT AND COVERAGE IS WHEN YOU ACTUALLY PROVIDE LIFELINE ACCESS FOR EVERYONE AND CAPITAL.
METRO HAS CHOSEN RIDERSHIP, NOT COVERAGE.
I THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO MAKE MY COMMENTS.
AND I WOULD ASK YOU TO CONSIDER REVISING YOUR POLICY, JUST LIKE CAPITAL METRO, TO ALLOW MORE TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND ACTION ITEMS. THEY'RE DISCUSSING THAT AT PRESENT.
YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I'LL ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.
UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS, MS. JOSEPH, UH, DOES ANYONE FROM THE BOARD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. JOSEPH? NO.
UH, WE'RE, WE'VE TAKEN NOTE MS. JOSEPH OF YOUR, OF YOUR CONCERNS AND WE'RE KEEPING TRACK OF HOW BEST TO ANSWER YOUR CONCERNS.
UM, IT WOULD EITHER BE DONE THROUGH FOLLOWUP MEETINGS, OR WE WILL SEND YOU A, UM, DIRECT COMMUNICATION TO YOU AS WELL.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AS WE WORK OUT, HOW TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR CONCERNS.
MA'AM UM, OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MS.
MS. ROUGHLY, YOU WOULD HAVE THREE MINUTES.
DID WE HAVE MISS ROUGHLY, CAN YOU HEAR US, MS. BROOKLEY? I DON'T THINK SHE'S THERE.
UM, IF MS. RUTLEDGE COMES DOWN AND SAYS LATER, CAN WE MAKE AN EXCEPTION TO MAKE SURE THAT SHE HAS A CHANCE TO SPEAK? OKAY.
SO MOVING ON, UM, TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS
[II. Executive Director’s Report]
ARE FIRST STARTED TODAY IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT FROM THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MR. RANDY CLARK.THANK YOU FOR OUR MEMBERS FOR BEING HERE.
AND I SEE THAT WE'RE JUST GOING TO CUE UP A SLIDE.
IT LOOKS LIKE A COUPLE OF SLIDES TO GO THROUGH.
SO, UH, FIRST THING I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT FOR THE BOARD AND YOU DID GET A NOTE FROM US AND WE ACTUALLY DID A LITTLE, UM, ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY ON THIS SOCIAL MEDIA WISE WAS A VERY, VERY CRUCIAL STEP FOR US IN THIS PROGRAM RELATED TO THE ORANGE AND THE BLUE LINES, WHICH ARE THE LARGEST COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM WE RECEIVED FROM THE FTA ACCEPTANCE INTO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE OF THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
UH, I CAN'T UNDERSTATE HOW BIG OF A STEP THIS IS FOR THIS PROGRAM.
SO KIND OF IN ONE WAY, WE GO FROM BEING, TALKING WITH FTA ABOUT SOMETHING THEY'RE WATCHING US SAYING WE'RE GOING TO DO TO NOW BEING IN THE FEDERAL PROCESS.
SO FOR THE FACT THAT NOW WE ARE FULLY RECOGNIZED BY THE FTA AS MOVING TO TWO VERY BIG, UH, MOSTLY IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE WHERE WE CALL THESE MEGA PROJECTS THROUGH THE PROCESS.
SO, UH, TACTICALLY, THAT ACTUALLY MEANS TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS.
ONE THE AUTHORITY TO PROCEED WITH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESSES THAT WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD ON OUR NEPA PROCESS, ET CETERA.
AND OUR ENGINEERING IS DESIGN.
NOW THAT WE'RE AT 15 W TOWARDS 30, BUT REALLY CRITICAL IS IT GIVES US THE AUTHORITY TO INCUR PROJECT COSTS ON A LOCAL POINT OF VIEW THAT WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE FTA REIMBURSEMENT.
SO THIS KIND OF LOCAL FEDERAL MATCH COMPONENT, IT ALSO GIVES US THE AUTHORITY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH REAL ESTATE.
AND NOW IT ALLOWS US IN OUR, I THINK, AN UPCOMING MEETING WE'LL TALK ABOUT, UH, WHAT'S CALLED THE RAMP, THE REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT.
AND SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE BOTHERED GOING TO BUY REAL ESTATE TOMORROW, BUT IT ALLOWS THE US TO START CRITICALLY GOING THROUGH WHICH PIECES ARE PRIORITY VERSUS NOT HOW TO WORK
[00:15:01]
WITH POTENTIAL HOME.UM, YOU KNOW, LAY LANDOWNERS, UH, START APPRAISE, UH, APPRAISAL PROCESS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO.
SO I WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, JUST THANK THE FTA.
THEY'VE BEEN A FANTASTIC PARTNER.
UM, AGAIN, I DON'T RECALL ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY, I'VE CERTAINLY, I CAN'T SAY THIS A HUNDRED PERCENT THAT ANYONE GOT TWO NOTICES ON THE SAME DAY FOR, TO MAKE A PROJECT FOR FDA PROJECT DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL.
UH, AND I GET A LOT OF KUDOS TO THE STAFF, UH, DAVE COUCH AND HIS TEAM SPECIFICALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING TO GET TO THIS STEP FOR ULTIMATELY A COUPLE OF YEARS.
UH, SO THIS REALLY DOES MOVE US FORWARD AND MOVES US FORWARD ON 30% DESIGN.
AND AGAIN, THE GOAL IS TO GET OUR 30% DESIGN BY NEXT SUMMER THAT MOVES US, ALLOWS US TO ALSO GET INTO THE FTC.
FDA HAS A PROCESS WHERE, UH, BY THE END OF THE SUMMER IS USUALLY THE END OF AUGUST PERIOD.
THEY CAN ESTABLISH RATINGS FOR PROJECTS, AND IT'S A MULTI-YEAR RATING PROCESS TO GAIN GO THROUGH, UH, WITH A LEAD TO A FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT, IDEALLY IN THE 2020 AND 2024, THAT'D BE CALENDAR YEAR 2024, UH, AND ALSO ALLOWS US TO CONTINUE THIS PROCESS BECAUSE ONE OF OUR KEY GOALS IS TO GET AN FTA NIPA RECORD OF DECISION.
WE'LL REFER TO IT AS A ROD, A FAIR AMOUNT GOING FORWARD, UH, BY WINTER 2022.
SO IDEALLY THAT DECEMBER, 2022 MIGHT BE JANUARY, 2023, AROUND THAT TIMEFRAME SOLIDIFYING THE RECORD OF DECISION FOR BOTH OF THESE, UH, BIG, LARGE PROJECTS.
SO AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THIS.
THIS IS A, IT'S A BIG STEP FOR US AS A, AS A, AS A GROUP.
I THOUGHT IT'D BE IMPORTANT TO TAKE A, UH, A MOMENT AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON IN DC.
NOT EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON IN DC, EVERYTHING IN DC RELATED TO THE, UH, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE, INVESTMENT, UH, HACKED.
THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER THINGS GOING IN DC THAT WE WON'T GET INTO HERE AT ATP.
UM, BUT AS MANY PEOPLE KNOW THERE HAS BEEN YEARS MIRRORS OF DISCUSSION ON BASICALLY 10 YEARS OF DISCUSSION ABOUT A BIG INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, AND A LOT OF MOMENTUM HAS BUILT.
UH, RECENTLY THERE HAS BEEN WHAT MOST PEOPLE CALL THE BEF THE BI BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE FRAMEWORK, AND THAT MOVED FORWARD WHERE THE SENATE PASSED ON AUGUST 10TH, UH, VERY HEAVY BY POWERS IN 69 TO 30 TO MOVE FORWARD ON A BI-PARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM.
THE HOUSE IS EXPECTED TO TAKE THAT BILL UP IN SEPTEMBER.
THERE'S VERY COMPLICATED, UH, RE UH, SEQUENCING, MAYBE RELATED TO THAT.
CAUSE THE THEY'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT RECONCILIATION, WHICH IS A ONE-TIME BUDGET MOVE THAT IS NOT POLICY DRIVEN, BUT IT'S FINANCIAL DRIVEN.
AND THERE'S SOME ASPECTS WHERE SOME PEOPLE MAY WANT TO PUT ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS INTO RECONCILIATION AND HOW THEY MAY ALIGN WITH POLICY THAT HAS DONE THROUGH THIS BILL.
UH, THERE'S ALSO THE DEBT CEILING THAT HAS TO GET RESOLVED AND THE OVERALL BUDGET.
SO LOTS OF MOVING PARTS IN DC.
UM, SO WHILE I THINK A LOT OF US ARE VERY OPTIMISTIC THAT WIPED GOT PASSED WE'LL THEN GO TO THE NEXT FINAL STEP, WHICH IS THE HOUSE APPROVAL.
AND THEN TO THE PRESIDENT'S DESK FOR SIGNATURE, IT IS NOT A NECESSARILY A LINEAR PATH, AND IT'S NOT EXACTLY A PATH THAT MAYBE GETS RESOLVED TOMORROW.
HOUSES HAVE BEEN CALLED BACK TO ME, I THINK ON THE 23RD OR 24TH, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM VOTING RIGHTS TO INFRASTRUCTURE, TO RECONCILIATION, LOTS OF THINGS, A GENERAL CONSENSUS THAT I'M HEARING IS THEY'RE HOPING BY SOMETIME IN MID SEPTEMBER TO GET SOMETHING DONE, BUT WE'LL ALL BE WATCHING AND SEE EXACTLY HOW THE LAST ACT OF THIS PLAY KIND OF GOES OUT.
I THOUGHT I'D HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF PARTS OF THIS BILL THOUGH, THAT ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO OSTEO DOING TRANSIT IN AUSTIN, BECAUSE THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT ELEMENTS IN THIS, IN THIS BILL THAT ARE HELPFUL.
THIS PROGRAM, ONE IS IT'S FORMULA FUNDING.
SO FORMULA FUNDING IS WHAT CAP METRO NORMALLY RECEIVES BECAUSE OF US RUNNING A TRANSIT SYSTEM.
AND THOSE ARE THINGS LIKE STATE OF GOOD REPAIR BOSTON BUS FACILITIES.
AND WHAT'S USUALLY CALLED CAPITAL COSTS, UH, MAINTENANCE.
SO, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AFTER SOME OF OUR ASSETS, UH, AND THAT'S KIND OF DONE IN AN URBANIZED FORMULA AND AS WE GROW THAT AS GOOD, BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT'S, IT'S PROPORTIONAL TO YOUR URBANIZED AREA OF WHERE YOU SERVE.
SO WHAT THEY DID IN THAT, IN THE BIG ONE IS THEY DID A 30% INCREASE IN THE FIRST YEAR IN FYI, 21 ON THOSE FORMULAIC ARMS. AND THEN THEY DID A 2% ANNUALIZED INFLATIONARY ADJUSTMENT, 2% INCREASE AS WELL.
UH, THAT IS A BIG DEAL, UH, FOR FORMULA FUNDING AND VERY LARGE, UH, CONTRIBUTION TO TRANSIT, NOT JUST HERE IN AUSTIN, BUT ACROSS THE INDUSTRY.
SO THAT WILL, UH, CERTAINLY BE GOOD BASELINE, UH, FINANCIAL, UH, STABILITY FOR THE ORGANIZATION GOING FORWARD TO RUN A LARGER SYSTEM.
[00:20:01]
BIG POSITIVES IN THAT SECOND.UH, THERE IS THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM, AND THAT'S THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE USING FOR EXPO IN PLEASANT VALLEY.
AND WE'LL WE ADVANCING THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINE AS I JUST MENTIONED THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE.
SO WHAT THEY DID IN THAT PROGRAM, AND THIS IS INCREDIBLY NUANCED AND COMPLICATED, AND I'M HAPPY TO KIND OF, NOT THAT I'M THE EXPERT IN IT, BUT I KNOW ENOUGH TO BE DANGEROUS, UH, HAPPY TO TALK OFFLINE LATER.
SOMEONE'S DEEP, DEEP, DEEP INTO IT.
UM, AND OUR, I HAVE ONE OF OUR EXPERTS GET REALLY DEEP INTO IT, BUT THEY HAVE X AMOUNT OF MONEY IN APPROPRIATIONS ANNUALLY FOR THIS PROGRAM.
WHAT THEY DID IN THIS BILL IS THEY DID $8 BILLION OF ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS, WHICH MEANS IT IS TRUE GUARANTEED MONEY.
SO IT IS NOT AT THE WHIM OF THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE.
SO IN THE FEDERAL SIDE, IT'S VERY COMPLEX BECAUSE YOU'LL HAVE A BUDGET AND THEN ANNUALLY, YOU HAVE APPROPRIATIONS.
SO THERE'S LOTS OF THINGS THAT ARE IN THE BUDGET THAT THE APPROPRIATORS THEN BE, OH, WELL, WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY GOING TO FUND THAT.
SO IT'S KIND OF AN, ALWAYS THIS TEXAS TO STOUT INSIDE THE FEDERAL PROCESS.
THEY, WHAT THEY DID IN THIS BILL, AND THIS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
THEY ADVANCED APPROPRIATED 8 BILLION.
SO THAT IS GUARANTEED FUNDING.
AND THE PROGRAM CUTS OUT THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE APPROVAL PROCESS AND SOLIDIFIES THAT FUNDING.
SECOND IN THE BILL ITSELF, THEY DID AN ANNUAL AUTHORIZATION OF 3.1, 5 BILLION ON TOP OF THE ADVANCED APPROPRIATION.
SO WHAT THAT DOES INSIDE THE BILL, IT'S KIND OF LIKE, YOU'RE A BUDGET CAP.
THERE IS ALLOWED TO GO UP TO 3.1, 5 BILLION ANNUALLY ON TOP OF THAT, BUT APPROPRIATORS AND THE PROBATION COMMITTEE HAVE TO PUSH THAT FORWARD AND ULTIMATELY IN THE BUDGET.
SO IT IS VERY GOOD THAT WE HAVE A BIG INCREASE IN THE, IN THE LOCKED IN AMOUNT.
SECONDARILY IF CONGRESS ON AN ANNUALIZED BASIS AFTER THE, UH, AFTER THE ADVANCED PROBATION, ONCE THEY HAD MORE, THEY HAVE ROOM IN THE BUDGET VEHICLE TO DO THAT, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD.
UM, SO THE NEXT PART I, WHAT TO MENTIONED IS COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAMS. THOSE PROGRAMS, WE ACTUALLY ASSUME NO FUNDING FOR ANY COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM, AS WE BUILT OUR, UH, INTEGRATED FINANCIAL MODEL, BECAUSE WE COULDN'T THINK TO SAY WE'RE GUARANTEED COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAMS. WE KNEW THE CIG PROGRAMS WHILE COMPLICATED WAS COMPETITIVE.
WE WOULD EVENTUALLY GET THROUGH THAT PROGRAM.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AT THE END, WE'LL HAVE TO DO A FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT NEGOTIATION WITH THE MTA.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO SEE WHERE THAT PERCENTAGE ENDS UP.
WE'LL ALSO HAVE TO SEE WHERE THE ANNUAL, UM, APPROPRIATIONS LEVEL ENDS UP FOR EACH PROGRAM.
UM, BUT WE KNOW THAT PROGRAM IS AT LEAST STABLE ON THE COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.
IT'S MORE HOLISTIC AROUND TRANSIT.
WE COULDN'T BE VERY VALUABLE FOR OUR PROGRAM AS WELL.
SO ONE OF THE BIG INITIATIVES IN THE BILL IS TO MOVE THE LOW AND NO EMISSIONS POS PROGRAM FORWARD.
AND THEY ACTUALLY DID FIVE AND A QUARTER BILLION AGAIN, ADVANCED APPROPRIATIONS I E GUARANTEED MONEY FOR LOW AND NO EMISSION BUS PROGRAM.
THAT IS AN INCREDIBLE LEAP FORWARD.
UH, FOR, FOR THAT CONSIDERING MOST ALL AGENCIES IN THE COUNTRY ARE GOING ZERO EMISSION.
WE ARE ALSO DOING THAT AT CAP METRO AND THE 80 AND THE PROJECT CONNECT VEHICLES WILL ALL BE THAT.
SO THAT IS REALLY GOOD AS WELL.
IT ALSO FUNDS THINGS LIKE CHARGING, NOT JUST THE BUSES THEMSELVES.
SO WE'LL APPLY TO PLAY VERY ACTIVE, UH, WITH THOSE GRANT FUNDING, UH, PROGRAMS. WE, UH, WE'VE WON LOW AND NOMO, NO EMISSION PROGRAM THREE STRAIGHT AT CAPITAL METRO.
SO WE'RE HOPING WE'RE, WE'RE SET UP VERY WELL FOR THAT PROGRAM.
BOSTON BUS FACILITIES IS AGAIN, REPLACEMENT BUSES, WHICH IS NOT REALLY RELEVANT TO THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM PER SE.
MY BOSS FACILITIES ARE PART OF OUR PROGRAM IS WE NEED A NEW DEMAND RESPONSE FACILITY AND WE NEED A NEW BUS MAINTENANCE FACILITY.
AND THE BIG INCREASE IN THAT FACILITY PROGRAM WILL ALLOW US TO BE COMPETITIVE FOR THOSE KINDS OF MATCHING FUNDS TO HELP US WITH THOSE FACILITIES, WHICH AGAIN IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, UM, UH, COSTS, UH, THAT WE'LL NEED IN THE PROGRAM.
THAT'S REALLY NOT OVERLY RELEVANT TO ATP AND THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM.
AND I WANT TO LIST IN THERE, RAISE GRANTS ARE WHAT USED TO BE CALLED TIGER.
NOW THEY'RE CALLED RAISE 1.5 BILLION ANNUALLY.
SO THAT, THAT IS A LOT OF MONEY.
IT'S USUALLY VERY OVERSUBSCRIBED, MEANING, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE A FOUR TO ONE RATIO OF PEOPLE THAT APPLY TO GET, BUT THIS NUMBER IS THE HIGHEST NUMBER EVER THAT THAT PROGRAM TOO HAS AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF DISCRETION IN THE SECRETARY'S OFFICE AND IN THIS BILL AND ALLOWS THE ADMINISTRATION, WHATEVER ADMINISTRATION IS THERE.
CAUSE IT'S A FIVE-YEAR BILL TO REALLY SET A LOT OF THE CRITERIA OF HOW THOSE GRANTS WILL BE JUDGED.
ONE THING THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS MADE A VERY CLEAR IS THE CLIMATE AND EQUITY, UH, AND KIND OF CONNECTING COMMUNITY WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT VALUES THAT THEY'LL BE LOOKING FOR IN THE GRANT.
NOW THERE'S STILL YOUR, YOUR NORMAL BENEFIT COST
[00:25:01]
ANALYSIS.AND A LOT OF OTHER THINGS, WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT WE'LL BE VERY AGGRESSIVE IN GOING AFTER RAISE GRANTS.
AND THAT COULD BE PARTS OF THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINE AS AN EXAMPLE, IT COULD BE FACILITIES, IT COULD BE TUNNELING.
IT COULD BE, WE HAVE SOME COMPLICATIONS AROUND CRESTVIEW, AS EVERYONE KNOWS WITH FREIGHT TRAINS ON THE, ON THE STREET VERSUS ELEVATION, ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
IT JUST GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A LOT OF, UH, PARTS OF THE PROGRAM AS ANOTHER SOURCE.
LASTLY, THERE'S THE RAIL AND HIGHWAY PROGRAMS. I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THE BILL, IF PASSED ALLOWS STATES
SO DOES GINA, UH, THAT WAS USED PRETTY, THERE WAS A LOT MORE FLEXIBILITY, I WOULD SAY IN MASSACHUSETTS THAN I'VE SEEN IN OTHER PLACES, THIS NOW IN SHRINES, IN THAT LEGISLATION, IF PASSED DLTS ARE ENCOURAGED OR HAVE THE ABILITY TO FLEX MORE OF THAT MONEY SPECIFICALLY FOR BUS RAPID TRANSIT AND OTHER ELEMENTS, INCLUDING EVEN FACILITIES.
SO WE'LL SEE HOW THAT COULD WORK.
IT ALSO DOES A PROGRAM CALLED CHRISTIE.
IT'S VERY FOCUSED ON RAIL SAFETY, SPECIFICALLY ON FREIGHTING COMMUTER RAIL, AND THEY HAVE 5 BILLION.
AND THEN, UH, WE ARE ONE OF THE THERE'S TWO OF US WILL AUSTIN, ONE IN ALASKA AT CAP METRO THAT ALSO A PASSENGER AND A FREIGHT RAIL.
AND SO WE THINK WE'LL BE ABLE TO GO AFTER GRANTS RELATED TO THAT, AND THAT COULD BE CONNECTED TO RED LINE OR FUTURE GREEN LINE AS AN EXAMPLE.
AND THEN THERE'S THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM IN FRONT AND THEY HAVE 700 MILLION ON THAT PROGRAM.
AND THAT IS TARGETED SPECIFICALLY FOR FREIGHT AND PASSENGER RAIL.
AGAIN, WE THINK WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PLAY IN THAT PROGRAM AS WELL.
SO STARTING TO TAKE A WHILE ON THAT SLIDE, BUT THIS IS A REALLY SIGNIFICANT DEAL COMING OUT OF DC.
AND I WANTED TO JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT WE BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL BE VARIOUS WAYS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM.
AND, AND THE THING THAT WE HAVE REALLY WELL SET OUT HERE FOR US IN AUSTIN THAN A LOT OF OTHER CITIES AND AGENCIES WILL NOT HAVE, IS TO PLAY FOR ALL THESE GRANTS.
YOU REALLY NEED TO HAVE TWO THINGS.
YOU NEED A LOCAL FUNDING, COMMITMENT FOR A MATCH, AND EACH MATCHES WILL BE DIFFERENT AND YOU NEED TO ACTUALLY HAVE A PROJECT.
WHETHER, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE FULLY DESIGNED, BUT YOU'RE, IT'S A REAL PROJECT IT'S TANGIBLE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST AN IDEA.
WE NOT ONLY HAVE A LOCAL FUNDING COMMITMENT BECAUSE OF THE VOTER'S CONFIDENCE LAST NOVEMBER, PLUS OUR INTEGRATED FINANCIAL MODEL, WE ALSO ARE MOVING A LOT OF THESE PROGRAMS THROUGH DESIGN PROCESS.
AND SO WE ARE GOING TO BE VERY STRATEGIC LAYOUT, A MULTI-YEAR STRATEGY TO GO AFTER THESE GRANTS IN RELATION TO THE OVERALL PROGRAM I THINKING THROUGH DESIGN SPECIFICALLY.
SO THAT IS WHY, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF YOU ARE ENCOURAGING US AND OTHERS, THE COMMUNITY THAT, HEY, STAY ON SCHEDULE, KEEP THIS THING MOVING.
ONE OF THE KEY GOALS OF THAT IS AS WE ADVANCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN PROCESS, IT WILL ALLOW US TO PARTICIPATE IN MORE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
SO THE BETTER WE DO AT OUR JOB, THE BETTER CHANCE WE HAVE TO GET EVEN MORE FEDERAL PARTICIPATION.
SO SORT OF TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME WITH THAT, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO GROUND THE BOARD ON WHAT IS HAPPENING OUT OF DC.
I HOPE TO COME BACK IN SEPTEMBER TO TELL YOU THAT THE DEAL WAS DONE AND MAYBE THERE'S EVEN MORE ELEMENTS THAT ARE POSITIVE FOR US, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, SO FAR SO GOOD.
UH, IN, IN DC RELATED TO INFRASTRUCTURE, I HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE AND THEN I'M OBVIOUSLY HAVING TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, THOUGHTS, CONCERNS WOULD BE WE SIGNED OUR LEASE.
THANK YOU BOARD FOR, UH, APPROVING THIS.
I THINK IT WAS, I THINK IT WAS LAST MONTH OF A MONTH BEFORE I APOLOGIZE.
THIS IS OUR NEW SPACE AT 2 0 3 COLORADO, UH, IN DOWNTOWN IT'S REALLY GREAT COLLABORATION SPACE FOR A JOINT PROGRAM OFFICE.
IT'S GOING TO BE WHERE ITP STAFF.
THERE'S SOME KIND OF METRO STAFF, CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF CONSULTING, STAFF, ET CETERA.
WE'LL BE SUPER COLLABORATIVE, ALL ABOUT PARTNERSHIP, HOW TO GET THIS PROGRAM DONE.
WE ALSO HAVE SPACE IN THERE THAT COULD POST THEIR BOARD MEETINGS, BUT CERTAINLY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS, PUBLIC MEETINGS.
UH, I NOTICED WE'LL BE COMING OUT SOON.
WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET THE FINAL DATE, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETIME IN LATE SEPTEMBER WHERE WE WILL DO A PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE NOW, YOU KNOW, JUST TORE THE SPACE, MAKE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF AGAIN, REEMPHASIZE REINFORCE THE IDEA THAT THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP IT'S COLLABORATIVE.
UH, THE PARKING LOT OUT FRONT IS ACTUALLY PART OF THE LEASE IN A WAY THAT ALLOWS US TO MAYBE DO DEMONSTRATIONS OR VEHICLE SETUPS OR TENTS AND ALL THESE KINDS OF THINGS AS WELL.
SO THAT WAS PART OF THE, UH, THE, THE BENEFIT OF THE SPACE AS WELL.
SO REALLY JUST EXCITED THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A COLLABORATION SPACE, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE, UH, WE'RE RAMPING UP STAFFING PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.
SO WITH THAT CHAIR, THAT WAS MY UPDATE.
BUT AGAIN, I'M HAPPY, TAKE COMMENTS, CONCERNS, QUESTIONS, THOUGHTS, UH, AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT I COULD PROVIDE TO THE BOARD AS WE GET GOING ON THE OTHER UPDATES.
THANK YOU, MR. CLARK, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? AND I'D LIKE TO FIRST OFF, START BY SAYING, CONGRATULATIONS ON GOING INTO PROJECT DEVELOPMENTAL.
[00:30:02]
MILESTONE THAT YOU HAVE REACHED WITH YOUR TEAM.SO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, REMEMBER ELKINS? YEAH.
CHECK IT JUST TO ECHO WHAT, UH, MADAM CHAIR SAID, UH, RANDY, DO YOU AND THE STAFF, UH, KUDOS ON GETTING THE NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE? I KNOW FIRSTHAND THAT'S A HUGE STEP, A BIG MILESTONE, AND, UM, UH, IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT PROGRESS.
UH, AS, AS, AS THAT METRO BOARD MEMBER, I JUST WANT TO SAY RANDY, WOW MAN.
I MEAN IT, AUGUST 7TH OF LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE WERE AT THAT JOINT MEETING, UH, WITH CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS AND THE COMMITMENT TO THE VOTERS FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE CAP METRO BOARD AT THAT JOINT MEETING.
AND, YOU KNOW, HERE WE ARE, YOU, YOU, YOU GUYS, AND IN LESS THAN A YEAR, WE PULLED THIS ALL TOGETHER.
AND, AND THAT, THAT, THAT IS A, THAT JUST IS A HUGE TESTIMONY TO THE AMAZING, INCREDIBLE TEAMWORK AND THE COMMITMENT THAT THE VOTERS OF AUSTIN AND THE WRITERS OF CAP METRO AND YOU AND YOUR TEAM AND THE FOLKS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THEIR STAFF.
AND NOW THE ATP STAFF HAVE PUT TOGETHER.
I, I, I CANNOT FIND OUT THEM ANY, ANYTHING THAT I I'VE SEEN.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IN MY SHORT TIME IN TRANSIT LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT ALSO LARGER PICTURE IN GOVERNMENT WHERE SOMETHING THAT HAS STARTED THAT QUICKLY THINKING ABOUT THE ATP FIRST, WE HAD OUR FIRST BOARD MEETING IN JANUARY, KICKING THIS THING OFF AND BY, YOU KNOW, JULY, WHAT WAS THE JULY THERE YOU ARE.
AND, AND YOU'VE, YOU'VE GOT THE LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE, SO KUDOS TO EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT THEN ESPECIALLY YOU AND YOUR TEAM THAT HAVE BEEN JUST BUSTING DUST AND, AND KICKING TAIL AND MAKING THIS HAPPEN, MAN, I REALIZED THAT IT IS JUST THE BEGINNING HERE, BUT, UM, KUDOS MAN, CONGRATULATIONS, AND, UH, REALLY, REALLY PROUD OF YOU GUYS.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING.
AND, UH, I CAN'T TAKE THE STAFF WITHOUT THE STAFF AND I, AND I THINK THE BOARD RECOGNIZED THE SAY, AND I APPRECIATE THAT AS THIS, WE HAVE A GREAT TEAM AND THEY ARE WORKING VERY HARD EVERY DAY.
I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT THE EFFORT IS VERY STRONG.
UH, THE OTHER PART IS TO COMMIT IT TO THE COMMUNITY.
IT'S PEOPLE HAVE SIGNED UP TO BE PART OF THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DO THIS FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND IT'S VERY MISSION-DRIVEN, UH, GINA AND HER TEAM.
YOU KNOW, WE SAID THIS WHOLE TIME, I NEVER SEEN A PARTNERSHIP AS GOOD AS OUR TEAM IN THE CITY OF ALTOGETHER.
AND I THINK IT'S ONLY GONNA GET BETTER WITH THE COLLABORATIVE SPACE, TO BE HONEST, I THINK AS EVERYONE EVEN GETS CLOSER, WE GET IDEALLY MASS OFF AND PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A SAFER ENVIRONMENT IT'S GOING TO EVEN JUST GET BETTER.
UM, THE PART THAT I'M THE MOST PROUD OF IS WE, WE TOLD THE COMMUNITY, WE HAD A SCHEDULE AND A VARIETY OF THINGS, AND WE HAVE YET TO NOT MEET A DATE.
UH, WE, WE ARE DOING A COUPLE OF THINGS.
WE'RE ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT AHEAD.
SO, UM, AND NOT ONLY GOES TO THE STAFF WORK, YOU KNOW, I JUST GET THE JOINT BEING HERE ON THE CAMERA AND TELLING YOU THE GOOD NEWS, BUT THE STAFF IS REALLY DOING A GREAT JOB.
SO THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING THE REFERENCE.
AND I ALMOST SAID THE FTA COULDN'T ASK FOR A BETTER PARTNER.
THEY ARE, THIS IS THE USDA AND THE FDA ARE REALLY A LOT.
HAND-IN-GLOVE WITH US, THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB.
SO I REALLY ENCOURAGE THE COMMUNITY.
AND I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO GET THE COMMUNITY UPDATE.
UH, WE, OUR 15% DESIGN THAT DOESN'T MEAN DESIGNS OVER BY ANY MEANS.
AND SO ONE OF THE EARLIER COMMENTS, WE NEED THE COMMUNITY TO GIVE US FEEDBACK ON SOME OF THESE BIG KIND OF QUESTIONS AND DESIGN ROOMS. SO THEN BY NEXT SUMMER 30% DESIGN, WE WILL HAVE A GOOD FRAMEWORK AROUND 30% COSTS AND, AND THAT HELPS KIND OF MOVE THOSE CRITICAL DECISIONS FORWARD.
SO I REALLY ENCOURAGE THE COMMUNITY, UH, TO GET INVOLVED.
AND IF THERE'S WAYS WE CAN BETTER COMMUNICATE WITH ALL PART, ANY PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY.
WE JUST NEED TO HEAR THAT BECAUSE IT WILL NOT BE A LACK OF EFFORT CHARTER, REALLY.
IT COULD BE A, JUST A MISSTEP UNINTENTIONAL.
SO THE MORE BOARD MEMBERS OR OTHERS COULD TELL US, WE GOT TO GET OUT AND DO OTHER THINGS.
CURRENTLY I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION.
ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE, WHEN WE READ THE LETTER THAT YOU RECEIVED FROM FTA, THEY MENTIONED THEY HAD SOME FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS BEFORE THEY GAVE THE APPROVAL TO PROCEED.
CAN YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE OR DO YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS THEY HAD TO FOLLOW UP ON, UH, ON THE FORMAL LETTER? SO WE GOT A FORMAL LETTER GETTING ACCEPTED.
WE GOT A LETTER BEFORE THAT SAYING, WE GOT YOUR PACKAGE.
WE NEED SOME MORE INFORMATION TO WHICH THE TEAM GAVE THEM.
UH, IF THERE'S ANYTHING MORE SPECIFIC WHEN DAVE GETS UP TO DO HIS PIECE, I'LL DEFER TO HIM.
IF THERE WAS A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE STILL KIND OF KIND OF OWE THEM, BUT MY GENERAL UNDERSTANDING IS WE'RE
[00:35:01]
AT LEAST INTO THE PROCESS.I GUESS I WOULD REINFORCE THIS WAY.
IT'S A NEVER ENDING PROCESS AND CONVERSATION.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT FTA EVERY WEEK, PROBABLY REALISTICALLY NEXT DECADE.
AND WE ALREADY HAVE A FANTASTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH REGION HEADQUARTERS.
SO IF ANYTHING, IT'S A, IT'S A CONDITION TO SAY YOU WILL CONTINUE TO MEET WITH US.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, I THINK ONE OF THE CONDITIONS IN THERE IS YOU'LL NOTIFY US ABOUT DESIGN AND WHERE YOU ARE PROCESSED.
SO IT'S NOT SO MUCH WHERE YOU ARE TODAY.
IT'S KIND OF THE FORMALITY OF YOU HAVE TO KEEP COMMUNICATING WITH US, I THINK IS THE PART THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING, BUT ALL I'LL ASK DAVE, IF I GOT THAT WRONG, HE CAN JUMP IN WHEN HE DOES THIS.
I THINK THAT IS WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO.
AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO THE ANSWER NOW, JUST, I WAS JUST CURIOUS.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR MR. CLARK? IF YOU WANT ME TO JUMP IN HERE, THE ONES THAT ARE IN THAT LETTER, PRINCIPALLY ARE THE ITEMS THAT NEED TO BE COMPLETED FOR US TO GET OUT OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND THEN INTO THE NEXT STEP, WHICH IS THE ENGINEERING PORTION.
SO ALL OF THAT WILL INCLUDE ADVANCING THE DESIGN, UH, COMPLETING EVERYTHING THAT'S THERE IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS.
SO IT'S NOT THAT WE WERE MISSING ANYTHING TO GET INTO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, THAT THEY WOULD NOT GRANTED IT IF WE WERE MISSING ANYTHING AS MR. CLARK SAID, THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT THEY LOOKED FOR ABOUT A MONTH BEFORE WE GOT THAT LETTER THAT WE PROVIDED.
UH, BUT AS WE GO FORWARD, IT WILL BE A WHOLE SERIES OF THINGS.
AND I'LL, I'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF IT A LITTLE BIT LATER.
UM, I ADD MY CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU, RANDY, AND THE STAFF, UM, UH, WITH MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS.
I HAVE A QUESTION BACK TO YOUR PRESENTATION ABOUT LAND ACQUISITION, THE ACRONYM YOU USED, WAS IT RAM AROUND, OR IT'S CALLED A RAMP AND IT'S A REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT PLAN.
AND SO IT'S BASICALLY HOW, HOW WE'LL GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING PARCELS, APPRAISALS, CONTACTING PEOPLE, UM, LIKE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY CONNECT TO A PROCUREMENT POLICY AND ALL THOSE KINDS OF THOSE KINDS OF, OKAY, I'LL REMEMBER THE ACRONYM, UM, IN THE SPIRIT OF THE PARTNERSHIP, HOW DO WE, UM, FORM A PROCESS FOR THAT TO BE IN SYNC WITH THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT STRATEGIES? HOW WILL THOSE TO HANDSHAKE CONSISTENTLY? SO, UH, SO IN THE ILA THAT WE GAVE TO THE BOARD AND THE BOARD APPROVED FOR, UH, THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT OF FUNDING GOING TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY ATP, WE HAVE NO CONTROL OR AUTHORITY OR JURISDICTION OVER THE $300 MILLION.
THAT $300 MILLION IS TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT'S IN THERE SAYS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN WILL CHECK WITH THE PROJECT OFFICE.
SO DAVE'S TEAM SENSIBLY, BUT OUR REAL ESTATE TEAM AS WELL, THEN ANYTHING THAT THEY MAY WANT TO ACQUIRE ALONG THOSE CORRIDORS WILL BE CONNECTED TO US FIRST.
SO WE ALSO CHECK THAT BOX TO SAY, THIS WILL NOT CREATE A CONFLICT.
AND SO YES, YOU CAN PROCEED WITH THAT PROPERTY.
SO, SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE A LOT ON NORTH LAMAR THAT THEY SAY WE WANT TO DO BY THIS LOT.
AND IT MIGHT BE FOR AN APARTMENT BUILDING A SENIOR APARTMENT OR LOW-INCOME APARTMENT GREAT, YOU KNOW, EITHER YES, DO IT, BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE THESE 12 FEET OR NO, THAT LOCKING OF WORK, UH, IN THAT CASE, SECONDARILY, UM, YOU KNOW, LONGER TERM AND NOT CERTAINLY FOR NOW YEARS FROM NOW, WE'LL HAVE TO WORK THROUGH PROPERTY THAT ATP ACQUIRES FOR THIS PROGRAM.
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES BUILD UPON THE, THE CONSTRUCTION LONG-TERM TO MAYBE WORK WITH THE CITY OR OTHER NONPROFIT PARTNERS OR WHATNOT TO ACTIVATE THOSE LOTS.
BUT THAT I WOULD SAY WE'RE YEARS AWAY FROM FIGURING ANY OF THOSE WE'RE WE'RE, WE'RE NOT EVEN AT THE POINT WHERE WE KNOW ALL THE PROPERTIES WE NEED TO ACQUIRE AND LET ALONE IN 10 YEARS WHAT THOSE ACQUISITIONS COULD FOLD INTO.
SO, SO THAT WHEN WE GET TO THE JOINT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT, WE'LL, WE'LL STITCH A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT, UH, AND WHAT ROLE EACH KIND OF THE AGENCY PLAYS, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S GENERALLY THE FRAMEWORK OF THAT.
I JUST WANT TO BE SURE WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT GETS A FORMAL PROCESS SO THAT THINGS DON'T FALL THROUGH THE CRACK, OR WE'RE NOT CHASING BEHIND THE DOG.
DOESN'T THE TAIL DOESN'T START WAGGING THE DOG.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A FORMAL PROCESS.
YOU'RE DOING WHAT'S IN THE ISLAND.
I WASN'T GOING TO SAY ANYTHING, BUT WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE CONGRATULATES, THE STAFF ARE GETTING PAST THIS MILESTONE.
I DON'T WANT TO BE THE ONLY ONES SILENT BECAUSE I RECOGNIZE THE, THE ACHIEVEMENT THAT IT IS KIND OF A GAZA HAS GONE OFF IN REALLY BIG WAYS.
AND IT'S EXCITING STAFF DID GREAT.
[00:40:02]
UH, IF I COULD, I'D ALSO LIKE TO JUST CONGRATULATE RANDY AND HIS TEAM, BUT ALSO THE, THE CITY TEAM AND THE, UH, BOTH TEAMS ARE CAPITAL METRO AND ATP, YOU KNOW, UH, A LOT OF WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THE SUCCESS THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF, UH, REAPING NOW THAT THE GROUNDWORK FOR THAT WAS LAID ACTUALLY LONG BEFORE THE VOTE WAS TAKEN.SO, UH, KUDOS TO RANDY AND THE CAPITAL METRO TEAM THAT BROUGHT THIS, THAT CITY TEAM TO MEET WITH THE FTA.
UM, ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY IN, UM, I THINK IT WAS 2019, RIGHT? SO, UH, REALLY CONGRATULATIONS, LOTS OF HARD WORK, LOTS OF HARD WORK AHEAD.
UM, AND WE APPRECIATE THE PARTNERSHIP.
THAT'S THE NIGHT GINA, A FUNERAL JUST FOR THE BOARD'S LAUGHTER.
UH, WE, UH, SPEND ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF STUCK ON THE HIGHWAY AND WACO TOGETHER.
SO, UM, THE
SO, UH, THAT'S MY REPORT FOR THIS MONTH HERE AND AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL BOARD MEMBERS FOR YOUR, UH, SUPPORT OF THE STAFF AND, UH, UH, ALL THE SUPPORT ORGANIZATION.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL HAND IT BACK TO YOU CHECK.
AND IF WE WERE ALL TOGETHER, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS THAT EVERY ONE OF THESE MILESTONES WE COULD DO OR SOMEBODY IN THE ROOM WAY TO GO TEAM.
[III.1. Community Engagement and Involvement Update]
WE'RE MOVING ON TO THE MONTHLY PROGRAM UPDATES AND I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME OUR DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM STRATEGY, MR. SAM SERGEANT, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CLARK MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.I'M GOING TO PROVIDE, UH, THIS MONTH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INVOLVEMENT UPDATE, UH, IN PLACE OF JACKIE NIERENBERG, BUT WE'VE GOT SOME EXCITING, EXCITING THINGS TO COVER.
IT'S BEEN A VERY BUSY MONTH SINCE SHE LAST GAVE HER UPDATE.
SO AS YOU KNOW, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR NOT ONLY GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT OUR VIRTUAL COMMUNITY MEETINGS, BUT ALSO PARTICIPATING IN SOME OF THEM, BUT WE CLOSED OUT OUR, UH, 15% DESIGN, UM, SCHEDULED MEETINGS FOR ORANGE AND BLUE LINE, UH, THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN JULY 27TH AND AUGUST 13TH, AS WELL AS THE SELF GUIDED VERSION OF THOSE, UH, WHICH BOTH HAD REALLY SUCCESSFUL BREAKOUT SESSIONS FOR THE VARIOUS SEGMENTS OF THE LINE, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A REALLY GREAT WAY TO DO IT AND REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, JACKIE AND HER TEAM, LONNIE STERN, UH, YONDA SPANX, JOCELYN AND OTHERS WHO'VE MADE THAT POSSIBLE.
I THINK IT REALLY GAVE FOLKS A LOT MORE OWNERSHIP OVER THEIR SEGMENT OF THE LINE AND LET THEM SAY THEIR PIECE ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, BUT YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE TOTALS HERE FOR THAT ENGAGEMENT.
UH, WE HAD HOPED TO HAVE A LARGE IN-PERSON MEETING AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, UH, BUT WE WILL HAVE TO DO THAT AGAIN AT ANOTHER TIME, BUT 774 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED THIS TIME AROUND.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE HAD OUR, I TAG PEACE AG EAC CON UH, JOINT TAC MEETING AND A CAC MEETING SINCE THE 18 P BOARD LAST MET.
SO VERY BUSY MONTH OF ENGAGEMENT, VERY SUCCESSFUL AND JUST VERY EXCITING CONSIDERING THE PLACE THAT WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR DURING THIS 15%, UH, DESIGN, UH, OUTREACH ROUND, UM, A LOT OF POSITIVE RESPONSES ABOUT THE FOURTH STREET CONCOURSE CONCEPT, BOTH AT THE STREET LEVEL, AS WELL AS BELOW CONNECTING ALL OF THOSE STATIONS TOGETHER, HAVING THAT SEAMLESS CONNECTIVITY, DOWNTOWN REACHING OUT TO IMPACTED BUSINESSES AND PROPERTIES ARE CRITICAL.
WE COULDN'T AGREE MORE AND WE WILL HAVE MORE, UH, MORE ON THAT FUTURE COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM, UH, AT, UH, AT ANOTHER MEETING, A LOT OF COMMENTS ON THE LONG AND SHORT TUNNEL OPTIONS, BUT A LOT OF POSITIVE COMMENTS FOR THE LONG TUNNEL OPTION ON SOUTH CONGRESS QUESTIONS, UH, ABOUT HOW WE'RE INTEGRATING WITH THE CAPITOL COMPLEX, ESPECIALLY THE EXPANSION TO THE NORTH.
AND I THINK A LOT OF THAT IS COVERED WITH OPTIONS, B AND C THAT YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN, UH, AT ONE OF DAVE COUCHES, LAST PRESENTATIONS FOR THE NORTH PORTAL.
UM, SO WE GOT A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK THERE, TRAFFIC LANES ON RIVERSIDE, UH, AND THEN CONNECTIVITY TO, TO OTHER, UH, GOOD TRIP GENERATORS LIKE ACC, UH, AS WELL AS HEALTHCARE.
SO WE GOT A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK.
THIS IS JUST A SAMPLING OF IT.
MAYOR, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT? I'M SORRY.
AND THEN SOME OF THE UPCOMING ENGAGEMENT.
SO CONTINUING OUR FORWARD MARCH, WE HAVE OUR NEXT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON AUGUST 25TH.
ALONG WITH, UH, METRO RAIL, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY MEETING TO TALK ABOUT THE RED LINE IMPROVEMENTS.
WE'VE BEEN REALLY FOCUSED ON ORANGE AND BLUE, UH,
[00:45:01]
BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MEETING ON METRO RAIL AS WELL AS ONE IN SEPTEMBER ON METRO RAPID.AND THEN IN SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, PETER MULLEN, UH, AND HIS ARCHITECTURE, URBAN DESIGN TEAM ARE GOING TO KICK OFF A SERIES OF, UH, DESIGN CHARRETTES SO THAT WE CAN GET PUBLIC INPUT IN A, IN A REALLY COLLABORATIVE, OPEN FACILITATED SETTING, UH, AROUND SOME OF OUR MORE COMPLEX STATIONARIES AND SOME OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT, UM, DESIGN OPTIONS THAT ARE STILL ON THE TABLE DOING A UNIVERSITY-OWNED FACEBOOK LIVE TOWN HALL IN SPANISH ON OCTOBER 7TH.
AND THEN OF COURSE CONTINUING OUR OUTREACH TO PROPERTY OWNERS, BUSINESSES, AND, UH, ENGAGEMENT WITH COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS, HOPING TO GET OUT THERE TO MORE AND MORE COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS WHO ARE STILL HOLDING THEIR MEETINGS VIRTUALLY AND TAKING THAT, GOING TO THEM APPROACH, UH, WHICH, WHICH I THINK FROM FROM EXPERIENCE IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO, TO TALK TO PEOPLE ON THEIR TERMS ON THEIR TIME.
SO CONTINUING THE GREAT WORK JACKIE'S GROUP IS DOING.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, I WILL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD MIGHT HAVE.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH, SAM.
UH, ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR INSTA SERGEANT? I'M EXCITED TO LEARN ABOUT THE
I'LL, I'LL WORK WITH JACKIE AS WELL AS OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY.
BEFORE WE MOVE ON SAM, WHEN, WHEN SOMEONE ASKS A QUESTION, LIKE WHY CAN'T THERE BE A STATION AT THE CAPITOL COMPLEX? DO WE ANSWER THOSE SOMEWHERE? DO WE, I MEAN, WE, WE, IT'S OUR PRACTICE TO RESPOND TO EVERY COMMENT THAT COMES IN.
UH, I WOULD NEED TO CONSULT WITH JACKIE, UH, OR POTENTIALLY DAVE COUCH, AND MAYBE WE CAN COVER THIS, UM, AT ANOTHER TIME, BUT YES, I MEAN, WE, WE DO RESPOND, UH, IT MAY BE, ESPECIALLY IN THE SETTING OF THE BREAKOUT GROUPS WHERE WE'RE RESPONDING TO PEOPLE VERBALLY.
UH, SO WE DO HAVE THOSE RECORDED, BUT DAVE, I KNOW THAT WE LOGGED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMENTS, UH, AND, AND DO RESPOND TO THEM.
UM, BUT YES, WE, WE DON'T WANT TO LET ANY OF THOSE SLIDE.
AND, AND IF WE FIND OURSELVES IN A, IN A POSITION WHERE WE DON'T HAVE A READY ANSWER, WE, WE FOLLOW UP WITH THEM.
IN OTHER WAYS, I SEE THAT PETER'S GOT HIS HAND UP AND HE ACTUALLY IS LIKELY THE BEST PERSON TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
SO WE ABSOLUTELY WILL RESPOND TO ALL THE COMMENTS TO COME UP.
PERIOD IS STILL OPEN FOR ANYBODY OUT THERE IN THE OPEN UNTIL AUGUST 27TH, THE 50% DESIGN.
SO ONCE THAT COMMENT PERIOD IS OVER, WE'LL COLLECT ALL OF THEM, UM, LIKE KINDS OF TOPICS AND THEN RESPOND TO ALL OF THEM AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO, HOW WE'RE GOING TO ADDRESS THEM OUT WILL BE POSTED ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SECTION.
AND JUST ALSO, WE MENTIONED THAT THERE IS A STATION AT THE CAPITOL, SO THAT'S ANOTHER WAY WE COULD, UH, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT, UH, DR.
BURNETT, ANY INFORMATION YOU NEED ON THAT.
THERE IS, THERE'S A STATION CALLED GOVERNMENT CENTER CAPITAL WEST THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MULTIPLE OPTIONS AT THE FINAL WHERE THIS COULD BE, BUT I THINK IT WILL HAVE FANTASTIC ACCESS TO THE CAPITAL CONFINES.
SO TO, TO THAT PARTICULAR QUESTION AND THAT, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.
WHEN DO WE MOVE FROM WORKING NAMES OF THE STATIONS TO HOW OLD IS THE ACTUAL NAMES OF THE STATIONS BE DETERMINED? WELL, WE'RE GENERALLY SPEAKING MOST, ALL THE NAMES WE FEEL ARE PRETTY DEFINED.
I MEAN, THAT'S THE NAMES THAT WE WENT TO THE COMMUNITY FOR THE REFERENDUM ON A FEW OF THEM ARE STILL BEING TWEAKED IN THE SENSE OF, SO THEY COULD, UH, GO AND, YOU KNOW, UH, LIKE GOVERNMENT CENTER, CAPITOL WEST, AND HOW THAT'S KIND OF TWO NAMES FOR ONE STATION, UH, RAINY AND MAC IS A GOOD EXAMPLE.
UH, WE OBVIOUSLY, THROUGH THIS COMMUNITY PROCESS, THE 30% DESIGN BY 30%, WE REALLY GOT TO LAND ON WHAT THESE NAMES ARE, BUT IF THERE'S SOME UNIQUE TWEAKS, IF YOU WILL, BECAUSE WE WANT THEM TO REFLECT THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, ACCESSIBILITY IS VERY CRUCIAL.
SO WE NEED OUR WAYFINDING TO BE UNIVERSAL, UH, HOW WE DO EVERYTHING.
SO THERE'S ACTUALLY A LOT OF DISCUSSION IN OUR INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW ABOUT HOW SOME PEOPLE HAVE SYMBOLS AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE ALPHA NUMERIC COMBINATIONS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF WORKING THROUGH THAT.
I THINK THAT'S STUFF THAT MAYBE IN THE WINTER TO SPRING WE'LL EVOLVE THROUGH THAT, THAT I COULD SEE US PROBABLY ENDING UP WHERE THE ORANGE LINE WILL BE THE ORANGE LINE, BUT MAYBE IT'S THE, UH, THE NUMBER
[00:50:01]
ONE LINE AND THE BLUE LINE IS THE BLUE LINE, BUT IT'S ALSO THE NUMBER TWO LINE, JUST FROM AN ACCESSIBILITY, BOTH IN SOFTWARE UNIVERSAL, UH, ACCESS FOR MULTI-LINGUAL MYSTIC, STUFF LIKE THAT.SO THAT'S KIND OF, AS WE WORK TOWARDS 30%, I THINK WE HAVE TO LAND ON THE EXACT DEFINITION OF, UH, THAT, THAT STATION OR OTHER STATIONS LIKE YEAH.
BUT WE WANT TO MAKE THEM CLEAN AS POSSIBLE.
SO SOMEONE KNOWS IT IS AT THIS LOCATION AND IT FEEDS THIS TYPE OF, YOU KNOW, AREA.
SO I HAVE A GOOD EXAMPLE RIGHT NOW IN OUR DOWNTOWN STATION.
WE PROBABLY CAN'T ENVISION THAT STAYING AT THAT HOUSE STATION, IT'S ONLY DOWNTOWN STATION NOW BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY STATION DOWNTOWN, OBVIOUSLY WHEN YOU HAVE ALL THESE STATIONS DOWNTOWN.
SO THAT PROBABLY HAS TO REALLY BE THOUGHT MORE AS ABOUT BRUSH SQUARE AND CONVENTION CENTER THAN DOWNTOWN STATION AS AN EXAMPLE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION, DR.
BURNETT, UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE THEIR HAND UP OR THAT I CAN'T SEE FROM STUFF OR ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY, GREAT.
[III.2. Project Connect Monthly Technical Update]
WE'RE NOW MOVING ON TO MR. COUCH.UM, HE'S GOING TO GIVE US THE MONTHLY, UM, CHIEF WHO IS OUR CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER, AND HE'S GOING TO GET US THE MONTHLY TECHNICAL UPDATE.
THANK VERY MUCH CHAIR, UH, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CLARK.
UH, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND GO THROUGH FIRST THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE UPDATE FOR THE MONTH, UH, AND THEN GO INTO WHERE WE ARE WITH MANY OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, MR. CLARK WENT THROUGH WITH RESPECT TO ENVIRONMENTAL.
AND AFTER, UH, AS, AS WE GO FORWARD, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE REAL ESTATE BEING VERY MINDFUL OF WHAT'S THERE AND WHAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE TO MINIMIZE THAT.
UH, WE CONTINUE TO GET COMMENTS AND FINISH THEM WITH THE CITY ON THE 15% DESIGN.
AND WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO AHEAD ALSO IN RAMP UP THE SIOUX WORK.
THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT THAT IS INCLUDED RIGHT NOW, BUT OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND GET THE PIPES THAT WE NEED TO RELOCATE EARLY IN THE PROGRAM IDENTIFIED SO THAT WE CAN GO AHEAD AND PREPARE THAT AS BURLY WORK BEFORE WE GET ANY OF THE MAJOR CONTRACTS OUT THERE.
UH, THE TWO PICTURES ON THE RIGHT ARE SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE SEEN A DIFFERENT VERSION OF PREVIOUSLY.
UH, THIS IS BASICALLY THE OPERATION TO GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE SOIL BORINGS.
AND THIS IS THE AREA WE HAD JOURNEY BEFORE THAT WAS DOWN CLOSER TO THE LAKE, BUT WE NOW ARE TAKING THESE ALONG THE ENTIRETY OF THE ALIGNMENT.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL SHOW YOU NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS SHOWS YOU WHAT THAT ALL TURNS BACK UP ONE, PLEASE.
THIS SHOWS YOU WHAT IT ULTIMATELY TURNS INTO A, YOU'VE GOT THE PLAN AT THE TOP THAT SHOWS THE ROUTE.
AND THEN WHAT YOU SEE IN THE SECTION AT THE BOTTOM WITH THE DIFFERENT COLORS IS THE DIFFERENT MATERIALS THAT ARE THERE THAT WE'RE FINDING AS A RESULT OF THOSE BORINGS.
SO THERE ARE THINGS THAT THE YELLOW PORTION IS THE AUSTIN CHARLA.
AND THEN BELOW IT, YOU HAVE ALSO GOT SHALE, WHICH IS GREAT FOR TUNNELING.
SO THIS STARTS TO GIVE US WHAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GO FORWARD AND PROGRESS THE DESIGN, UH, LOOKING AT THE BEST POSSIBLE LOCATION AND ELEVATIONS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, GET THERE AND TO BE ABLE TO DO THE TUNNELING SAFE AND EFFICIENT.
THE LOW POINT, IF YOU WILL, IS RIGHT ON THE LEFT, JUST CENTER UNDER THE LAKE.
THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT CONTROLS ALL THE ELEVATIONS THAT ARE COMING BACK OUT.
SO IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE TECHNICAL THAN WE USUALLY GET INTO.
UH, BUT I WANTED TO JUST GO AHEAD AND SHOW YOU THE KIND OF PROGRESS THAT WE'RE MAKING AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, TRYING TO GET TO THE FUTURE IN PARTICULAR, ON ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING PARTS, WHICH IS THE TUNNEL.
WE CONTINUE, UH, AS WE GO FORWARD ON THE BLUE AND ORANGE WITH THE NEPA PROCESS, BUT AS MR. CLARK SAID EARLIER, WE RECEIVED THE ENTRY AND A PROJECT DEVELOPMENT LETTER, UH, FROM FTA.
UH, AS A MATTER OF FACT, I HAD A MEETING THIS MORNING, UH, AN HOUR LONG THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, EXPO AND PLEASANT VALLEY.
UH, AND AT THE SAME TIME WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN DO WE GO AHEAD AND START AND SET UP TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY MEETINGS ON BLUE AND ORANGE? UH, SO THAT'S A CONTINUING CONVERSATION, UH, AND I EXPECT THAT WE'RE GOING TO START THOSE IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO, BUT ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING TO AUGMENT THE FTA STAFF, UH, IS AS WE GO THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS FOR BOTH ORANGE AND BLUE, AT THE SAME TIME, THEY HAVE A PROVISION CALLED 1 39 J THAT ALLOWS US TO GO AHEAD AND PROVIDE SUPPORT TO HELP IN THAT REVIEW.
SO WE HAVE SELECTED KIMLEY-HORN TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT WORK.
UH, THEY ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH FTA AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, THEY ARE IN TOWN YESTERDAY AND TODAY, UH, FOR BOOTS ON THE GROUND POWER OF TOUR OF THE TWO LINES.
UH, THE REST OF IT ARE THE THINGS
[00:55:01]
THAT WE'RE DOING ON REPORTS, LOOKING AT PROJECTIONS, UH, BASED UPON THE BUILD SCENARIO FOR RIDERSHIP AND THEN CONTINUATION OF THE ARCHEOLOGICAL, UH, AND OTHER COMPONENTS THAT WE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND COMPLETE, UH, THE OVERALL EIS PROCESS.NEXT SLIDE, MOVING ON SPECIFICALLY TO THE METRO RAPID LINES, UH, FOR EXPO IN PLEASANT VALLEY, WE HAVE A CONTRACT THAT IS CURRENTLY ADVERTISED.
UH, IT'S AN ID IQ, INDEFINITE QUANTITY CONTRACT, UH, THAT WE'LL BE USING TO GO AHEAD AND BUILD THE CONCRETE STRUCTURE.
UH, SO THAT'S ADVERTISED WITH THE EXPECTATION TO BE AWARDED, UH, IN THE OCTOBER TIMEFRAME.
WE'RE WORKING TO GO AHEAD AND GET THE DESIGN DONE, TO BE ABLE TO GET THE SHELTERS FABRICATED.
UH, AND THEN AS WE GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IN PLANNING AHEAD IS THERE WILL BE A VEHICLE CONTRACT THAT WE'LL COME BACK TO THE CAT METRO BOARD FOR AWARD.
NEXT MONTH, WE PUT WHAT'S CALLED AN OPTION IN THAT CONTRACT.
SO THERE ARE ENOUGH VEHICLES THAT WHEN THE CONTRACT IS AWARDED, UH, WE CAN ALSO EXECUTE THE OPTIONS.
SO WE'VE GOT AN ADVANCE THOSE VEHICLES THAT CAN BE MANUFACTURED AND DELIVERED UNDER THAT CONTRACT.
SO WE DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE THE TIME TO ADVERTISE A CONTRACT WE'VE ALREADY GOT IT SO THAT IT WILL BE IN PLACE.
UH, WE CONTINUE ON A SMALL STARTS READINESS DOCUMENTS.
THAT WAS PART OF WHAT WE REVIEWED THIS MORNING.
UH, AND THAT'S A CONTINUOUS PROCESS, WHETHER IT'S PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN RAMP AS MR. CLARK MENTIONED EARLIER.
AND SO ON AS WE GO THROUGH ALL OF THE REQUIRED PORTIONS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO GET THE FUNDING AGREEMENT IN PLACE, UH, WE'RE ALSO CONTINUING WITH A REAL ESTATE AND IN SPECIFICALLY A LOT OF DETAIL WITH THE CITY, UH, IN THOSE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS, UH, IN ARRANGEMENT OF A LOT OF THE SHELTERS, UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT AS WE GO FORWARD, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW WE INTEGRATE NOT ONLY THE NEW STATIONS, BUT ALSO BIKING PAD.
UH, SO THAT'S A CONTINUING OPERATION THAT WE'RE WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH, UH, THE GOAL LINE AND LAMAR.
UH, THOSE ARE ONES THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE STARTING SOON.
UH, WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO AHEAD AND GET THE ENGINEERING, UH, AND THINGS IN PLACE TO MOVE FORWARD ON THOSE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, ON THE RED LINE, UH, THE MCCULLOUGH STATION, UH, WE'RE WAITING FOR FDA TO GO AHEAD AND APPROVE THE CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR A SMALL AMOUNT OF LAND THAT WE HAVE TO ACQUIRE A 30% DESIGN IS DONE, AND WE'RE MOVING ON TO THE 60%, UH, EXTENSIVE COORDINATION AGAIN WITH THE CITY, UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO PERMIT DIFFERENT PORTIONS OF THE PROGRAM.
UH, BROADMORE CONTINUES WITH THE COORDINATION WITH THE NEIGHBORS, UH, LEANDER AND LAKELINE.
UH, THAT SECTION IS GOING TO GO BEFORE THE AUGUST BOARD MEETING FOR APPROVAL, UH, AND ON THE CIRCULATORS, WE CONTINUE TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE AND ROLL OUT OTHER ONES AS WE GO ALONG.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, WHAT'S BEEN A VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM, UH, AND THE RIDERSHIP CONTINUES TO BUILD ON EACH ONE OF THOSE LINES.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'D BE GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD FROM MR. COACH? UM, I DO, I'VE JUST STARTED A CURIOSITY WITH THE DESIGN OF THE METRO RAPID STATIONS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE A PROTOTYPE FOR THOSE, FOR THOSE STATIONS.
WHAT WAS, I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK IN TERMS OF THE KIT OF PARTS AND WHAT CAPITAL METRO AND, YOU KNOW, JUST AS, AS A PROGRAM, WE'RE GOING TO BE MAINTAINING THESE EACH OF THESE STATIONS.
WHAT IS THE, I SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE DESIGN OF THIS PARTICULAR STATIONS THAT DEVIATES, OR IS DIFFERENT FROM THE CURRENT DESIGN OF THE METRO RAPID.
UM, COULD YOU GUIDE ME A LITTLE BIT THROUGH WHAT WAS THE LOGIC OF THAT DESIGN THAT, THAT AS YOU SAY, IS A PROTOTYPE WE'RE LOOKING RIGHT NOW, WE HAD MR. MULLINS AND GO AHEAD AND COME UP WITH WHAT THE DESIGN WILL BE ULTIMATELY FOR THE STATIONS.
UH, THAT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS THAT WE HAVE GOT TO GO AHEAD AND DEVELOP SOME DIFFERENT CONCEPTS, SOMETHING THAT WILL PROVIDE, UH, THE KIND OF ACCESS AND SHADE AND OTHER AMENITIES.
UH, AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT HOW THOSE NEW DESIGNS WOULD FIT INTO WHAT THE EXISTING SYSTEM IS AND WHAT THE TYPE OF SHELTERS ARE THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
BUT SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS, THAT IS ONGOING PROCESS.
I'M JUST THINKING IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING IT AND HAVING THE REPLACEMENT PARTS AND MAKING IT EASY FOR, FOR THE GROUP TOO, TO KEEP THEM IN TIP-TOP SHAPE.
[01:00:01]
IT'S INTENDED TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO BE MODULAR IT'S INTENDED TO BE.SO, UH, WE WILL KEEP IN STORAGE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF THEM, UH, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IT ACCIDENTS HAPPEN AND YOU'VE GOT TO REPLACE THE SHELTER IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, AND YOU DON'T WANT TO BE GOING BACK TO A SUPPLIER.
UH, SO WE WILL MAINTAIN A CERTAIN STOCK SO THAT WHEN UNFORTUNATE OCCURRENCES LIKE THAT DO OCCUR, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND GET INTO AN ERECTED.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD OR MEMBER ELKINS? UM, THANK YOU.
MADAM CHAIR, UH, DAVE, JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS ON THE, UM, HIRING OF KIMBERLY HORN FOR THE REVIEW OF THE EIS TECHNICAL REPORTS.
I'M ASSUMING THAT CONTRACT WOULD BE UNDER THE LIMITS OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR WOULD THAT BE COMING TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL AT A LATER DATE? UH, IT IS ACTUALLY CONTRACT.
THAT IS ABOUT, IT IS OVER THE APPROVAL LEVEL WITH THE CONTRACT, WENT THROUGH, UH, CAPITAL METRO BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE THE CONTRACTING IN PLACE YET TO DO THAT PROCESS WITH ATP.
SO, SO THAT'LL BE THROUGH THEM AND I GUESS THERE'LL BE A REIMBURSEMENT MECHANISM TO CAPITAL METRO.
IT WILL ALL BE SOME OF HOW THE FUNDING MOVES BACK AND FORTH.
AND I ASSUMING ONCE WE GET OUR PROCUREMENT POLICIES IN PLACE, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BRIEFING ON THAT LATER.
THEN THESE TYPES OF CONTRACTS WE'D BE PROCURING DIRECTLY.
AND THEN I GUESS ONE OTHER THING, AND THIS MAY BE A TECHNICALITY FOR THE PROCUREMENT POLICY WHEN WE PUT IT IN PLACE.
YOU MENTIONED ID IQ, CONSTRUCTION SERVICES CONTRACT, UH, IS I THINK SOME OF US KNOW THAT'S AN INDEFINITE QUANTITY AND IT DEF WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT'S GOING TO BE.
SO WE JUST NEED TO THINK IN OUR PROCUREMENT POLICY, HOW WE HANDLE IDI QUEUE.
AND WHEN WE TRIGGER THE THRESHOLD FOR REPORTING THAT THERE'S A MECHANISM THAT WE GET REPORTED OR APPROVAL IF IT HITS A CERTAIN LIMIT.
I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO DO ANYTHING RIGHT NOW.
IT'S MORE JUST A TRIGGER THAT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THAT TYPE OF, RIGHT.
AS YOU KNOW, THAT GIVES A GREAT, A GREAT DEGREE OF FLEXIBILITY, UH, BECAUSE WE'LL GET THAT CONTRACT IN PLACE PRIOR TO US HAVING A HUNDRED PERCENT DESIGN.
BUT SINCE IT IS A QUANTITY, A QUANTITY TYPE CONTRACT, UH, THAT LETS US GO AHEAD AND START THE WORK MUCH SOONER AS OPPOSED TO WAITING UNTIL THERE'S A A HUNDRED PERCENT DESIGN.
AND YES, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT WITH THE APPROVAL LEVEL OF THAT AND A CONTINGENCY.
THERE ARE TIMES THAT IT IS A REPORT THAT COMES BACK AND REQUIRES ADDITIONAL APPROVALS.
AND THE LAST THING WAS THAT YOU MENTIONED YOUR EARLIER SLIDE, ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF TRAFFIC ANALYSIS WAS FOCUSED ON TERM BAY LENGTH REQUIREMENTS.
I THINK OF ONE OF THE EARLIER MEETINGS, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IMPACT OF TRAFFIC GOING FORWARD ON THE TWO LINES, PARTICULARLY THE ORANGE LINE.
AND I THINK AT A LATER DATE, IT MIGHT MAKE SENSE TO HAVE A SEPARATE PRESENTATION ON TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND HOW WE ENVISION TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT LOOK UNDER THE QUARTER AS WE GET MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE ADVANCED IN DESIGN UNDERSTAND.
THANK YOU FOR REMEMBER STRATTON.
DAVID JUST, JUST WANTED TO SEE, GET GOING BACK TO THAT SLIDE WITH THE BORINGS FIRST.
THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING THAT SLIDE.
UH, THINK THERE THERE'S A, UM, A COMMON MISCONCEPTION, UH, THAT, THAT WITHIN AUSTIN, BECAUSE YOU DON'T SEE BASEMENTS AS A COMMONALITY WITHIN RESIDENTIAL HOMES AROUND HERE.
UH, I REMEMBER GROWING UP, EVERYBODY SAID, WELL, YOU JUST GO DOWN LIKE TWO INCHES AND YOU HIT BEDROCK.
AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE DISCUSSION AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH AND, AND, AND PASSING THIS WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SAW THIS CONCEPT OF THE, OF THE TUNNEL, BUT IT DIDN'T REALLY FULLY, YOU KNOW, UH, AND THEY WANTED TO SEE IT, BUT IT DIDN'T REALLY FULLY, YOU KNOW, TAKE, UH, TAKE HOLD OR REALLY FULLY A LOT OF FOLKS DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WELL, HOW THIS WAS GOING TO WAS GOING TO GO ABOUT HAPPENING.
UH, I JUST WANTED, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD JUST FLUSH OUT A LITTLE BIT AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE BORINGS AND AS YOU ALL ARE NOW TAKING THE BORINGS FURTHER UP AND DOWN THE LINE, AND AS WE'RE NOW PROPOSING THE POSSIBILITY OF EXTENDING AND DOING THE TUNNELING FURTHER ALONG THAN WE, THAN WE HAD EXPECTED INITIALLY BASED ON THE, UM, UH, THE GEOMETRY ASSOCIATED WITH GETTING A TRAIN FROM FOURTH STREET UP ONTO A BRIDGE THAT WELL, UNLESS PEOPLE LIKE RIDING A ROLLER COASTER, WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE TO KEEP IT, YOU KNOW, UNDER THE TUNNEL, LOOKING AT WHAT YOU'RE SEEING NOW IN THE BORINGS, IS THIS COMING BACK FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND YOUR, YOUR, UH, EXPERIENCE AND EXPERT OPINION, ARE YOU NOW FEELING IN YOUR TEAM FEELING THAT, THAT THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE WERE ORIGINALLY PERCEIVING AND THINKING THAT THE SOIL AROUND AUSTIN WOULD GIVE US AND THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING
[01:05:01]
AT, IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BUILD OUT A LONGER, A LONGER DISTANCE TUNNEL, THAT, THAT WE'VE GOT THE APPROPRIATE SOIL TO GO ABOUT DOING THIS AND THAT THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DOING SO, UH, AT LEAST FROM A GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY PERSPECTIVE, UM, AREN'T GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, OFF, YOU KNOW, OFFLINE FROM WHAT WE MIGHT THINK THAT WOULD BE, UH, IN MY EXPERIENCE IN A LOT OF OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, I'VE DONE BOTH SOFT GROUND TUNNELING.I'VE ALSO DONE HARD ROCK, DRILL AND BLAST, OR A LOT OF DIFFERENT METHODS.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'LL PROBABLY USE ON THIS PROJECT IS A TUNNEL BORING MACHINE, UH, THAT WOULD BE CLOSED FACE.
IT WILL BE ABLE TO CUT THROUGH THE ROCK.
AND THEN WHEN WE ALSO GET TO A POINT THAT WE WOULD COME UP, UH, INTO THE SOIL AREA, UH, IT WILL BE ABLE TO HOLD THAT AND IT WILL BE STABILIZED.
SO WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN WHAT WE'VE BEEN TOLD PREVIOUS, UH, IS BASICALLY BEING VERIFIED WITH WHAT'S HERE.
UH, IT'S SIMILAR TO THE, WHAT WE'RE GETTING AND THE INFORMATION FROM WALLER CREEK.
UH, SO I BELIEVE THIS IS GOING TO BE BETWEEN THE AUSTIN CHALK, UH, AND THEN INTO THE SHALE.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY, VERY GOOD, UH, TUNNELING METHOD.
UH, AND I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT, UM, GETS US TO THE POINT, PARTICULARLY WITH BEING DEEP ENOUGH UNDER THE LAKE, UH, THAT WE'RE IN GOOD ROCK, UH, AND THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT SUCCESSFULLY.
AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR YOUR THOROUGHNESS, AND NOW ADVANCING THIS FURTHER AND GETTING US THIS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AGAIN, THANK YOU SPECIFICALLY FOR, INCLUDING THAT A TECHNICAL SLIDE IN YOUR PRESENTATION THIS AFTERNOON.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I THINK DID YOUR SLIDE, THE TECHNICAL SLIDE THAT SHOWS THE SECTION THROUGH THE PROFILE OF, OF THE TUNNEL BORING SECTIONS, UM, MAY HELP IF MS. PENTEL IS STILL ON, YOU KNOW, WATCHING THE MEETING, IT MAY HELP EXPLAIN ALSO SOME OF HER CONCERNS OF WHY AND HOW WE'RE TUNNELING.
AND ONE THING THAT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO, TO CLARIFY IS THAT THIS IS EXACTLY THE PROCESS WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH IN ANALYZING, AS WE GO THROUGH THE SIGNING, 15% DESIGN AND 30% DESIGN.
AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD WHERE WE'RE GOING TO DISCOVER NEW THINGS, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PIVOT AND ALTER OUR DESIGN DECISIONS TO DEAL WITH REAL WORLD CONDITIONS.
AND SO IF ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD MR. COUCH IN, IN RESPONSE TO HER GENERAL QUESTION WAS, YOU KNOW, WHY DO WE NEED TO HAVE SO MUCH MORE TUNNELING? AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT LAST TIME IN TERMS OF THE GRADING CHANGES, BUT IF ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE FOR HER KNOWLEDGE AND TO, UM, TO ANSWER HER CONCERN, I THINK THE MAJOR THING THAT IS THERE, UH, REALLY HAS TO DO WITH US HAVING THE UNDERGROUND TUNNEL THAT IS AT REPUBLIC SQUARE, UH, AND THEN BEING ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND GET FROM THAT DEPTH, BASICALLY, IF WE WERE TO GET BACK A BRIDGE, UH, WHAT UNFORTUNATELY HAPPENS.
AND IT'S BECAUSE OF THE GREAT, UH, IS THAT THERE WERE A SERIES OF VERY HEAVY, UH, UTILITIES THAT ARE IN THIRD AND ALSO SECOND STREET.
AND AS YOU GO AHEAD AND GO BACK TO GRADE FROM AN UNDERGROUND TUNNEL, THE RESULT WOULD HAVE BEEN, WE WOULD HAVE HAD TO CLOSE SECOND STREET TO THROUGH TRAFFIC THAT THEN WOULD HAVE STARTED AS TO TRY TO GET UP AND OVER A CSR SHAVEZ TO EIGHT BRIDGE.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT THOSE COMPLICATIONS ARE WITH THE UTILITIES, WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT IS THERE WITH RESPECT TO THE CLOSURE OF A MAJOR STREET, LIKE, UH, SECOND, UH, THOSE ARE THE REASONS THAT WE WENT AHEAD AND WENT TOWARDS THE TUNNEL THAT GOES UNDER THE LAKE, BUT THERE'S ALSO A PIECE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE LAKE.
IF WE HAD GONE OVER IN A BRIDGE, UH, THE AREA THAT IS RIGHT THERE ON RIVERSIDE AND AROUND TO, UH, CONGRESS, UH, THAT AREA IS FLOOD BLANK.
SO WE WOULD HAVE NOT ONLY HAD TO GO OVER WITH A BRIDGE, WE ALSO WOULD HAVE HAD TO CONTINUE WITH AN AERIAL STRUCTURE ACROSS RIVERSIDE AND THEN PART OF THE WAY UPSIDE CALORIES.
SO THERE THERE'S COMPLICATIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE LAKE THAT HAVE DRIVEN US TO THIS DECISION TO GO THIS WAY.
AND I THINK, UM, UM, THAT THE SECOND PART OF HER QUESTION, AND WE MAY NOT BE READY TO ANSWER AT THIS TIME, SO PLEASE, UM, CORRECT ME OR STOP ME IF I'M TAKING THINGS OUT OF, OUT OF TIMING FOR PRESENTING TO THE PUBLIC, BUT ANY CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL TUNNELING, THAT WOULD CAUSE MORE FOR US TO IMPLEMENT MEANS THAT IT'S ALL WITHIN OUR
[01:10:01]
FUNDING MECHANISM.IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE ASKING THE VOTERS FOR ADDITIONAL MONEY, BUT WE'D HAVE TO MAKE YOUR WORK WITHIN OUR CONSTRAINTS, CORRECT.
ALANA, I CAN ANSWER THAT PART OF THE CHAIR.
SO WE, WE HAVE NO INCLINATION OR A CONCEPT WORKING AT SAP THAT WE WILL COME BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND ASK FOR ADDITIONAL REVENUE FROM TAXES.
SO WE ARE GOING TO MAKE THIS PROGRAM WORK BASED ON WHAT WE COMMIT TO THE VOTERS.
SO WE HAVE, AS DAVE MENTIONED, THAT IS A TECHNICAL DRIVEN DESIGN PART ON THE TUNNEL.
WE ALSO HAVE MULTIPLE SECTIONS OUT THERE THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR COMMUNITY PUT ON.
SO WE HAVE A LONG AND A SHORT TUNNEL IN SOUTH CONGRESS.
WE NEED THE COMMUNITY'S INPUT ON THAT PROCESS.
THERE'S PROS AND CONS TO BOTH OF THAT.
THERE'S A LONGER TUNNEL TOWARDS MLK ON THE NORTH SIDE.
AS AN EXAMPLE, THERE ARE THOSE TYPES OF ELEMENTS THAT WE NEED THE COMMUNITY TO BE PART OF.
AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THE ENGINEERING AND CONCEPTS, WORKING CONJUNCTION WITH OUR CITY PARTNERS.
SO, UH, WHEN WE GET TO NEXT SUMMER, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A 30% DESIGN.
AND THEN AT THAT POINT, WE'LL HAVE GOOD COST ESTIMATES.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE STILL IN THE ROUGH ORDER OF MAGNITUDE.
YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO BE BRINGING TO YOU, UH, THROUGH DESIGN ON RED LINE, YOU KNOW, MENTAL, RAPID, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
ONCE YOU GET TO THAT LEVEL OF ENGINEERING AND DESIGN AND COMMUNITY INPUT, YOU REALLY NOW HAVE SOME FOUNDATIONAL COST ESTIMATES.
AND I THINK ONE THING WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THE BOARD AND OTHERS ON IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BUDGET AND THE DIFFERENCE SHOULD COST ESTIMATES.
AND I KNOW GREG ALLIE'S UP NEXT AND DIANE TYLER, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
TO REALLY FRAME A BUDGET IS ANNUAL COST.
ESTIMATES ARE A DIFFERENT COMPONENT, BUT WE HAVE NO INCLINATION OF BRINGING ANYTHING TOWARDS THE VOTERS FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
UH, AS THE PROGRAM EVOLVES, WE'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE'S GOING TO BE OPPORTUNITIES ON REVENUE SIDE THAT WE NEVER NECESSARILY EXPECTED WITH.
UH, WHAT'S GOING THROUGH THE FEDERAL SIDE RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE MAY HAVE COST SAVINGS ON OTHER COMPONENTS.
UM, BUT KNOW WE DO HAVE OTHER RED FLAGS THAT ARE CLEARLY OUT THERE THAT I THINK WE HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH ME ABOUT REAL ESTATE PRICES IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAVE GONE UP ABOUT 30% SINCE THE START OF THE YEAR.
SO IF, IF A RESIDENTIAL HOME OR BUSINESS HAS GONE UP 30%, THE RIGHT OF WAY HAS GONE UP 30% AS WELL, UH, INFLATION ON CONSTRUCTION COSTS.
IF ANYONE IS DOING ANY HOME RENOVATION OR PARTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THEY UNDERSTAND INFLATIONARY PRESSURES.
WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT IS TRANSITORY VERSUS WHAT IS FIXED.
WE HAVE TIME ON ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
SO REALLY BY LATE NEXT SPRING SUMMER, WE ARE GOING TO BE AT A REALLY CONSEQUENTIAL POINT FOR THIS BOARD USING A RISK ANALYSIS PROCESS TO SAY, HOW DOES THE FRAMING OF THE WHOLE PROGRAM FIT IN THE AFFORDABILITY OF WHERE, OF WHERE THE FUNDING IS AND WHAT NEW SOURCES COULD BE IN VERSUS NEW COSTS.
AND I THINK AT THAT TIME, WE'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING FROM THE FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT THEY'RE BE ABLE TO HELP US IN OUR MATCHING GRANTS, CORRECT? YES.
SO I THINK, UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MR. CLARK.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON NOW TO, UH, AN UPDATE FROM MS. RODRICK, BUT I ALSO LEARNED THAT MISS RADLEY, WHO WAS ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, SPEAKERS IS BACK ON THE LINE.
AND SO IF, IF SHE CAN HEAR US, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE PRESENTATION FROM MS. RODRICK.
AND THEN, UM, WE'LL GIVE YOU THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK.
[III.3. Administrative Program Update]
SO OUR NEXT PRESENTER WILL BE THE I'D LOST MY PLACE IN THE SCRIPT.SO WE'LL HAVE OUR DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT VICKY REDERICK WITH THE PROCUREMENT CANADA.
LOOK AHEAD FOR THE MOSTLY ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATE.
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, GOOD AFTERNOON.
BOARD MEMBERS AND DIRECTOR CLARK.
SO THIS IS JUST A QUICK CALENDAR UPDATE TO TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE OR WHERE WE HOPE TO BE.
I SHOULD SAY FROM A PROCUREMENT PERSPECTIVE, CAN NAME A APPROVAL OF BOARD ACTION NEXT MONTH ON OUR POLICY.
SO, UH, OF COURSE TODAY, UH, FOLLOWING THE COMMENTS, I'LL GIVE A BRIEFING ABOUT OUR BOARD, UH, PROCUREMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES.
AND THEN, UH, TOMORROW I'LL ALSO PRESENT TO THE, UH, FINANCE AND RISK ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO TALK ABOUT THE PROCUREMENT PALOS AND DEADLINES AND ADDRESS ANY CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS THAT THEY MAY HAVE.
UM, BY THE 25TH, THE PLAN IS TO GIVE THE BOARD A COPY OF THE PROCUREMENT POLICY AND GUIDELINES, SO THAT YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND PROVIDE COMMENTS PRIOR TO THE SEPTEMBER, THE 15TH BOARD.
WHEN WE WERE COMING BACK ASKING YOU TO ADOPT, UH, THE POLICIES AND, UH, GUIDELINES, HOPEFULLY, UH, ONCE THAT, UH, IS ADOPTED AND MID-SEPTEMBER THAT WE WILL ACTIVELY START SOLICITING, UH, IN THE NAME OF, UH, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
[01:15:01]
SO WE'LL BEGIN OUR PROCESS.AND SHORTLY AFTER THAT, IN OCTOBER, WE WILL BRING TO YOU, UH, THE CALL LEGAL SERVICES ON A CONTRACT.
UH, WE RECEIVE PROPOSALS AND TODAY ON THAT AT TWO O'CLOCK, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO BRING THOSE TO YOU IN OCTOBER FOR THE BOARD TO APPROVE AWARD OF THOSE LEGAL SERVICES CONTRACTS.
AND SO SHORTLY, I'LL GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR PROCUREMENT RHETORIC.
ARE THERE ANY COURSES OR CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROCUREMENT CALENDAR AND WHERE WE ARE? THANK YOU.
DO WE HAVE MS. BRADLEY ON THE LINE? YES, I'M HERE.
UM, THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH US THROUGH THIS TECHNICAL GLITCHES AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
THIS IS MY FIRST TIME PRESENTING BEFORE THE BOARD AND AS STATED, MY NAME IS SHANTIES RUTLAND.
I AM THE DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR THE AUSTIN AREA.
THE URBAN LEAGUE, UH, MISSION IS TO PROVIDE TOOLS TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS TO BUILD A FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EQUALITY AND ALIGNING WITH THIS MISSION.
THE AUSTIN URBAN LEAGUE HAS JOINED FORCES WITH THE ATX MOBILITY COALITION, WHO ARE MOST KNOWN FOR ADVOCATING SUCCESSFULLY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF $300 MILLION OF ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUNDING.
SO TODAY I COME TO ASK YOU TO DOUBLE DOWN ON YOUR EQUITY PRINCIPLES AND IMPLEMENTATIONS INTO THE PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES OF PROJECT CONNECT.
ONE WAY IS BY PROVIDING ADEQUATE TIME FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHEN IT COMES TO THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT.
ADDITIONALLY, THE INTEGRATION OF THE ATX MOBILITY CORRELATIONS COM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PRINCIPLES ACROSS THE ENTIRE PROJECT, WHICH WILL ENSURE THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STAYS AT THE FOREFRONT OF NOT ONLY THE JPA, BUT ALL OTHER NUANCES OF THE PROJECT.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO SHANTE CURRENTLY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
THANK YOU, MS. BRADLEY FOR BEING INTERESTED IN THIS PROGRAM AND FOR REACHING OUT TO US.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD FROM THIS RATTLING? GREAT.
SO IF WE DON'T HAVE, UM, SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON NOW TO OUR ACTION ITEMS. OUR FIRST SECTION
[IV.1. Approval of Minutes from the June 16, 2021, and July 21, 2021 Board Meetings]
ITEM TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JUNE 16TH AND JULY 21ST, 2020 FIRST I'LL SEND GRANTS AT PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETINGS.UM, HAS EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO READ AND REVIEW THE MUNICH MINUTES? YES.
I COULD HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE IN A SECOND.
YOU WERE ADLER MOTION TO APPROVE.
AND DO I HAVE A SECOND SECOND BY MR. ELKINS? EVERYONE IN FAVOR, SAY, AYE, RAISE YOUR HAND.
UM, MAKE SURE YOU'RE ON CAMERA.
AND THERE ARE NO NAMES, CORRECT? RIGHT.
THE MEETING MINUTES HAVE BEEN APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
[IV.2. Approval of a Resolution Adopting the ATP Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement]
TO OUR SECOND ACTION ITEM.DO YOU HAVE A PULL UP A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, DIVERSITY EQUITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT.
UM, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION THAT I'M CHAIR AND I, THANK YOU, DR.
UM, DO I HAVE A SECOND? THANK YOU SECOND BY MR. ADLER.
UM, EVERYONE, UH, IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
UM, OUR POLICY HAS BEEN APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
UM, SO THIS CONCLUDES OUR TWO ACTION ITEMS FOR THIS MEETING.
SO NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. THE FIRST
[V.1. Procurement Policy Briefing]
IS A PROCUREMENT POLICY BRIEFING.UM, AND AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR DIRECTOR FOR PROCUREMENT.
[01:20:01]
REDERICK, THANK YOU SO MUCH.UH, SO THIS IS JUST A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE DOCUMENT THAT YOU'LL RECEIVE ON THE 25TH IS OUR PROCUREMENT POLICY AND GUIDELINES.
THE MAIN THING THAT I WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT THE PROCUREMENT, THE PROCUREMENT POLICIES AND GUIDELINES ARE BASED ON BEST PRACTICES AND THE INDUSTRY AS WELL AS COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL STATE AND FEDERAL LAW.
THE BIG THING IS THAT IT PROTECTS THE INTEGRITY OF THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
IT TALKS ABOUT THE DO'S AND DON'TS DURING THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, IT TALKS ABOUT ETHICS FROM BOTH AN ORGANIZATIONAL AND FROM A PROCUREMENT PERSPECTIVE.
ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT IT TALKS ABOUT IS COMMUNICATIONS, UH, DURING AN ACTIVE SOLICITATION AND BEFORE A SOLICITATION.
AND THEN IT COVERS, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
IT PROVIDES CONSISTENCY IN SOURCING, AND WHEN WE HAVE CONSISTENCY IN SOURCING, UH, IT MINIMIZES THE, UH, POSSIBILITY OF HAVING A PROTEST SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE PROBLEMS AWARDING OUR CONTRACTS AND IS COMPLIANT WITH THE FTA GAG FOR PROCUREMENT SYSTEM REVIEWS.
THERE ARE ABOUT 63 ITEMS ON THAT LIST AND OUR PROCUREMENT POLICY AND GUIDELINES, UH, IS COMPLIANT WITH THAT.
WE HAVE HAD A CURSORY REVIEW FROM FTA REGION SIX.
WE'VE HAD TWO OUTSIDE ATTORNEYS LOOK AT THE POLICY AND GUIDELINES.
WE'VE HAD ONE LOCAL ATTORNEY, AND THEN WE'VE HAD ALSO OUR ATTORNEY WHO SPECIALIZES IN, UH, FTA GUIDELINES.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, ABOUT THE COMPLIANCE PIECE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE VARIOUS, UH, TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE, THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODES, UH, FROM A FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE LOOKING AT TWO CFR, PART 200, WHICH COVERS ALL OF THE PROCUREMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FTA MASTER AGREEMENT AND THEN THE FTA CIRCULAR 42 20 THAT ONE F WHICH IS A GUY FOR THIRD PARTY CONTRACTING WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH ANY, UH, FEDERAL FUNDING AS FAR AS PROCUREMENTS GO, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WAY THAT WE HAVE THIS BROKEN OUT, WE HAVE POLICY GUIDELINES AND WE HAVE ADMINISTRATION THE POLICIES, UH, PRETTY MUCH GO OVER OUR OBJECTIVES, TALKS ABOUT THE PROCUREMENT METHODS.
TALK ABOUT REMEDIES THAT OUR CONTRACTORS AND CON AND CONSULTANTS HAVE, IF THEY HAVE ANY, UH, ISSUES WITH OUR PROCUREMENTS.
AND THEN OF COURSE IT TALKS ABOUT, UH, ETHICS AND THEN YOUR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
AND SO THAT WILL BE IN THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS THAT WE ARE TITLED POLICY AND IN THE POLICY, THE WAY THAT WE HAVE IT WRITTEN INTO THE DOCUMENT IS THAT ANYTHING THAT CHANGES WITHIN POLICY, THAT WE COME BACK TO OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR APPROVAL TO MAKE ANY OF THOSE CHANGES.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE GUIDELINES WHICH WILL BE CHAPTERS FIVE THROUGH NINE OF THE DOCUMENT.
THIS PIECE GOES INTO YOUR CONTRACT SPECIFICATION.
IT TALKS ABOUT COST PRINCIPLES AND CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION, ALL OF THESE THINGS, WHICH ARE REQUIRED BY THE FTA.
AND THEY LOOK AT WHEN THEY DO THEIR SYSTEMS REVIEW OR THEIR AUDIT.
SO WHEN WE ASKED YOU TO ADOPT THIS IN SEPTEMBER, WE WILL BE ASKING FOR YOU TO ADOPT BOTH THE POLICIES AND THE GUIDELINES, THE GUIDELINES.
WE WILL BE ABLE TO CHANGE THOSE AT A STAFF LEVEL, IF SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE CHANGED, OF COURSE, WITH LEGAL REVIEW AND AGREEMENT ON MAKING ANY CHANGES.
THE LAST SECTION WE HAVE AS AN, AS AN ADMINISTRATION MANUAL.
AND THAT DOCUMENT IS SORT OF A PROCUREMENT, HOW TO, THAT TALKS TO THE PROCUREMENT STAFF ABOUT HOW TO DO THINGS USING THE CHECKLIST SO THAT WE MAKE SURE WE DON'T MISS ANY STEPS ABOUT DOCUMENT THE HISTORY OF THE ENTIRE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, THE ADMINISTRATION CLOSING OUT THE CONTRACT AND WORKING WITH OUR INTERNAL PARTNERS.
SO THAT DOCUMENT DOES NOT COME BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO TIE IT TOGETHER TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE POLICY GUIDELINES AND WE HAVE THAT ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL.
AND THEN JUST SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE POLICY IS ONE, IT ENCOURAGES INNOVATION, IT ALLOWS SOURCING FLEXIBILITY.
IT DOESN'T TIE US TO JUST DOING ONE TYPE OF A PROCUREMENT METHOD.
IT ALLOWS FOR BOTH PERFORMANCE AND
[01:25:01]
COST INCENTIVES BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE BUSINESS.AND BASED ON THE PARTICULAR SOLICITATION, IT ALSO ALLOWS EVALUATION CRITERIA, FLEXIBILITY.
FOR INSTANCE, IF WE'RE DOING THE SOLICITATION FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, WE'RE GOING TO WALK THAT CRITERIA DIFFERENT FROM SOMETHING, A SOLICITATION, THAT'S DOING A TUNNEL.
SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO, UH, BE ABLE TO, UH, DO PROCUREMENTS BASED ON THE SOLICITATION AND TYPE, UH, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO SOLE SOURCING.
WE HAVE THE ABILITY FOR SOMEONE TO SUBMIT AN UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL.
SO THE PROCUREMENT POLICIES AND GUIDELINES GO INTO ALL THESE THINGS.
AND ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT IT DOES IS SUPPORT THE DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION POLICY, WHICH YOU'LL HEAR COURTNEY TALK AROUND A LITTLE BIT LATER.
AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE POLICY AND THE GUIDELINES, SOME OF OUR OBJECTIVES ARE TO PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC CONFIDENCE AND THE INTEGRITY, FAIRNESS, AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF OUR PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
SO WE COVER ALL OF THOSE THINGS WITHIN THE DOCUMENT.
SO TO THE SOMEONE WHO'S DOING BUSINESS WITH ATP, AND THEY WANT TO KNOW WHY OR HOW WE'RE DOING THINGS, THEY CAN USE THIS DOCUMENT AS A GUIDE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND WE HAVE IT DOCUMENTED SO THAT WE'RE CONSISTENT TIME AND TIME AGAIN, WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING.
THE OTHER THING IS WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INSURANCE FAIR AND EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF ALL PERSONS WHO ARE DOING BUSINESS WITH AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
AS FAR AS THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS GOES, WE PROMOTE CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR DBES MBES, ALL OF THE VARIOUS MODELING MINORITY ON BUSINESSES PROMOTE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS, DO COURTESY AND BEING IMPARTIAL.
AND ONE OF THE MAIN REQUIREMENTS, UH, FOR FEDERAL DOLLARS, AS WELL AS ANY GOVERNMENT, WE, IT FOSTERS FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION AND, AND IT CREATES AN ENVIRONMENT OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANCE, UH, TRANSPARENCY THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH OUR, WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS, OUR VOTERS, WITH OUR PUBLIC, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND AS WE TALK ABOUT HOW WE SUPPORT THE DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION, UH, POLICIES, AND, UH, HOW COURTNEY AND I WILL WORK TOGETHER AND COLLABORATE, WE COLLABORATE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CONTRACT LIFE CYCLE.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT STARTING WITH THE PRE SOLICITATION PHASE, ONCE WE RECEIVE A REQUISITION, WE SEND THAT SCOPE AND THEN THAT COST ESTIMATE OVER TO COURTNEY SO THAT SHE CAN EVALUATE IS, AND START THE GOAL SETTING PROCESS BASED ON THE SCOPE AND THE AVAILABILITY OF MINORITY CONTRACTORS FOR THAT PARTICULAR SCOPE.
DURING THE SOLICITATION PHASE, WHEN WE PUT A SOLICITATION ON THE STREET, WE HAVE EXHIBITS WITHIN OUR CONTRACT THAT FOCUS SOLELY ON THE, UH, DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN MINORITY AND SMALL BUSINESSES.
WE, FOR AN EVALUATION CRITERIA, THE DEI PORTION IS NOT AVERAGE IS ADDITIVE.
SO WHILE ALL OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSALS THEY'LL BE EVERETT THROUGH, UH, BASED ON THE CRITERIA, BUT THE DEI IS ADDITIVE.
SO THAT GIVES YOU AN INDICATION THAT AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THAT DEI SCORE MEANS A LOT TO THOSE BUSINESSES.
WE HAVE, WHAT'S CALLED AN INTENT TO PERFORM THAT'S INCLUDED IN THOSE DOCUMENTS, WHICH ALLOWS THE, UH, CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS TO TELL US HOW THEY INTEND TO USE THEIR MINORITY SUPPLIERS.
THAT INFORMATION IS TRACKED THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THAT CONTRACT.
SO WHEN THEY GIVE US THOSE DOLLARS, WE LOOK AT THEM AT THE SOLICITATION PHASE WHEN THEY SUBMIT A SOLICITATION, AS WE GO INTO THE POST AWARD PHASE, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE, THEY HAVE A MONTHLY VENDOR PAYMENT REPORT WHERE THEY REPORT TO US HOW MUCH THEY PAY TO THEIR MINORITY SUPPLIERS.
AND WE'RE TRACKING THAT AGAINST WHAT THEY TOLD US ON THEIR INTENTS TO PERFORM, TO SEE HOW THEY'RE MEETING THOSE GOALS OF THE D THE DBE OR MINORITY PARTICIPATION GOALS.
SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE WAYS THAT, AND NOW WE'LL WORK TOGETHER.
WE'LL DO A EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT EXPLAINING TO THE COMMUNITY, HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH ATP, HOW TO CONTACT, COORDINATE, AND WORK WITH OUR D I DEPARTMENT, AS FAR AS LOCATING AND ENGAGE IN MINORITY SUPPLIERS.
[01:30:01]
SO IT WILL BE AN ONGOING PROCESS THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF ANY CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE.SO I BELIEVE THAT'S MY LAST LINE.
UH, IF THERE ARE ANY, UH, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO TAKE THOSE AT THIS TIME.
MADAM CHAIR, UH, VICKY, FIRST OF ALL, UM, I WANT TO SAY, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON BOARD, SOMEBODY WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE.
I GET EXCITED ABOUT PROCUREMENT.
IT'S A DRY, I NOTICED SOME FOLKS, BUT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO SEEING YOUR SLIDES AND A LOT OF THE BUZZWORDS THAT YOU HAVE IN, THERE ARE THINGS THAT I REALLY THINK ARE IMPORTANT IN THERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T DO PROCUREMENT IN A VACUUM.
WE NEED, UH, FEEDBACK FROM THE MARKET.
SO, UM, THE MORE FEEDBACK WE GET FROM THE CONSTRUCTION FIRMS, THE ENGINEERING FIRMS AND CONSULTANTS OUT THERE, THE BETTER THE PROCUREMENTS ARE GOING TO BE FOR OUR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS WITHIN THE PROGRAM.
UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS, UH, I THINK ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO WE NEED TO ADVERTISE THAT, THAT WE HAVE AN UNSOLICITED POLICY, HOW IT WORKS, UM, HOW PEOPLE WOULD GET SELECTED.
SO, YOU KNOW, NEC KIND OF GETS BACK INTO INNOVATION.
WE WANT TO GET A LOT OF INNOVATION.
AND I LIKE WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT REWARDING INNOVATION FOR ME, REWARDING INNOVATION COMES THROUGH AND WHAT'S CALLED ATCS ALTERNATIVE TECHNICAL CONCEPTS.
SO WE NEED TO BE OUT THERE TELLING THE MARKET.
WE ARE VERY OPEN TO ALTERNATIVE TECHNICAL CONCEPTS.
AND IF ACCEPTED, UM, YOU KNOW, WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN, IN, IN THAT TEAM SPECIFIC PROPOSAL.
UH, AND I THINK A LOT OF INNOVATION AND COST SAVINGS COME THROUGH, YOU KNOW, IN THESE, UH ATCS UM, SO ALL THAT'S GREAT, UM, TRANSPARENCY, AND, UM, AND I THINK THE OTHER THING TOO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE TOUCHED UPON THIS VICKY IN ONE OF OUR EARLIER MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, GOALS ARE OBVIOUSLY VERY IMPORTANT.
I'D LIKE US TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN CREATE A CARROT AND STICK APPROACH WITH DB GOALS.
YOU KNOW, WE'LL SET A GOAL OF X PERCENT, BUT IF A TEAM IS ABLE TO EXCEED THAT PERCENTAGE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO THEY GET REWARDED FOR THAT? AND CONVERSELY, IF THEY ARE UNDER THE TARGET, YOU KNOW, WHAT ASSOCIATED PENALTIES, IF ANY ARE APPROPRIATE, UH, AND THAT WAY MAYBE WE CAN PUSH PEOPLE TO DO MORE THAN THE DBE TARGET WE'VE SET.
AND WE JUST NEED TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
CAN WE DO THAT WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF, OF THE FEDS, BUT SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT? YEAH.
AND THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMENT.
AND COURTNEY AND I HAVE BOTH BEEN COMMUNICATING WITH, UH, OUR CONTACTS AT REGION SIX, DISCUSSING THESE THINGS.
AND SO WE WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO BRING BACK TO YOU, UH, HOPEFULLY BY NEXT WEEK ON THAT SUBJECT AND TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME IDEAS ON MAYBE HOW, WHAT WE CAN DO AND WHAT WE CAN DO.
UM, I ECHO WHAT, UM, UH, BOARD MEMBER, TONY ELKINS SAID, I, AND HE ACTUALLY TOUCHED ON A QUESTION THAT I HAD, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY'RE NOT IN COMPLIANCE AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THAT NOW, BUT I THINK, AND IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE SPELLED OUT.
I JUST WANT TO BE SURE THAT THAT IS SPELLED OUT.
LIKE WHAT HAPPENS IS WHEN SOMEONE IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WILL MEET THE TARGETS.
AND I REALLY LIKED THE CONCEPT OF WHEN SOMEONE EXCEEDS THE TARGETS.
THAT SHOULD BE THE, LIKE AN INCENTIVE FOR THAT, A CARROT AND STICK APPROACH.
COURTNEY AND I WILL, UH, GET TOGETHER AND WE WILL PUT TOGETHER A DOCUMENT BASED ON OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH FTA AND WE WILL GET THAT INFORMATION BACK.
AND THEN, AND THEN DO WE BUILD A LIST OF POTENTIAL SUPPLIERS THAT ARE DBS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE'S THAT, WHERE'S THAT, WHAT'S THE SOURCE OF THAT.
I KNOW MS. TRAVIS, WHEN I ASKED HER THIS COURTNEY GO AHEAD AND MAKE IT, DO YOU WANT ME TO TAKE THAT? UM, SO YEAH, SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DBE SPECIFICALLY, WE HAVE A DATABASE CALLED THE TEXAS UNIFIED CERTIFICATION PROGRAM DATABASE, WHERE ALL DBES ARE LOCATED AND YOU CAN SEARCH IT BY, UM, WORK CODES AND OTHER, OTHER LOCATIONS, OTHER CRITERIA TO IDENTIFY WHERE AND WHO WHO'S AVAILABLE FOR WORK PRODUCTS.
UM, SO THAT'S ONE PLACE IN ADDITION, WHERE WE USE OTHER DATA THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE TO US CENSUS DATA, UM, WE LEARN BY LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY OF WHO'S AVAILABLE AND WHO MAY BE AVAILABLE TO MOVE INTO THE DB PROGRAM TO BE CERTIFIED.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT SPACES, BUT FOR A PRIME CONTRACTOR WHO WANTS TO HIRE A D B E ON A CONTRACT THAT TCP DATABASE IS THEIR PRIMARY SOURCE.
IS THERE SOMETHING LIKE THAT AVAILABLE ON A NATIONAL SCALE? UM, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
I ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT OFFHAND.
[01:35:01]
STATE HAS THEIR OWN DIRECTORIES AND I, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A NATIONAL THAT PULLS IT ALL TOGETHER, BUT I CAN FIND OUT BECAUSE ARE WE ONLY, ARE WE ONLY INTERESTED IN THOSE IN TEXAS OR SO WE DO HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT OUR MARKET AREA IS WHEN WE'RE SETTING GOALS AND OURS WOULD BE TEXAS SPECIFIC, BUT WE, WE INVITE PEOPLE, RIGHT? I MEAN, FOR SUPPLIERS.WE CAN ALSO LOOK BEYOND TEXAS.
UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THIS IS JUST FOR INSTANCE, IN TERMS OF PROCUREMENT, FOR DESIGN, OUR FIRMS, MOST OF THE FIRMS THAT PURSUED THESE KINDS OF PROJECTS ARE NATIONAL FIRMS. SO THE OUTREACH IS ALREADY OUT THERE FOR, TO INVITE THEM TO PARTICIPATE.
BURNETT IS SPECIFIC TO, WHEN YOU SAY SUPPLIERS IS THE, THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD ACTUALLY GET TO BUILD IT AND GIVE US THE MATERIALS FOR THE SYSTEM.
WELL, OF THE PRIME CONTRACTORS.
LIKE THERE HAS TO BE A LIST SOMEWHERE ON A NATIONAL LEVEL OF, UM, JUST LIKE WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS, THE SUBCONTRACTORS, I WANT US TO THINK BIGGER, JUST FOCUSING ON THE SUB PRIME BEING OF MEN OF MINORITIES OR PEOPLE OF COLOR.
I MEAN, IT WAS STRETCH OURSELVES BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, THOSE ARE GOING TO MOST LIKELY NOT BE IN THIS GENERAL AREA, THOSE LARGER PROVIDERS OR LARGEST SUPPLIERS I'M TRYING TO USE YOUR TERMINOLOGY, THE LARGER SUPPLIERS, MAYBE I'LL, MAYBE I CAN JUST MAKE A COMMENT ON THAT TOO.
THAT MIGHT GIVE MAYBE SOME CLARITY.
HOPEFULLY IT DOESN'T MAKE IT A LOT LESS COLOR.
SO THE DIFFERENCE MAYBE SUPPLIER VERSUS SAY CONTRACTOR.
SO ON THE SUPPLIER SIDE, THERE ARE DB LINKAGES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THE WHOLE SUPPLY CHAIN.
SO A GOOD EXAMPLE IS WE GO TO BUY A RAIL VEHICLE.
THE RAIL VEHICLE WILL HAVE 50 SUPPLIERS THAT WORKS FOR A PRIME, UH, WHAT WE CALL A BUILDER.
SO, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN AN ESTABLISHED OR A KINKY CHARLOTTE, IT DOESN'T MATTER SOME OF THE DOES SEATS AND SECURITY CAMERAS AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON.
AND THEY ALREADY KNOW GENERALLY SPEAKING, WHO THE DBE SUPPLY CHAIN IS IN THE COUNTRY, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT THE ONLY NONE OF THAT.
WE'RE NOT EVEN A BIG, LARGE PEOPLE THAT BUY VEHICLES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ENDED UP WITH 75 VEHICLES.
IT MIGHT SEEM BIG TO AUSTIN, BUT THAT IS VERY SMALL COMPARED TO NEW YORK OR CHICAGO.
SO THEY, THAT IS A PRETTY WELL-ESTABLISHED IN OUR INDUSTRY AND THINGS LIKE APTA.
UH, THE, UH, THE NATIONAL TRADE ASSOCIATION HAS AN ENTIRE GROUP FOR BUSINESS BOARD MEMBER, A BOARD MEMBERS, UH, SORRY, BUSINESS MEMBERS, AND INSIDE THAT THEY HAVE DB SUBCOMMITTEES AND ALL OF THAT, THE EVENTS ARE GOOD NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE SUPPLIER CONNECTIONS.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE CONTRACTOR SIDE, AS COURTNEY SAID, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE FOCUSING AS BEST WE CAN ON LOCAL BECAUSE WE WANT THE JOBS TO BE LOCAL WITHIN FEDERAL LAW AS BEST WE CAN.
BUT CLEARLY THERE WILL BE FIRMS THAT PARTICIPATE, NOT THAT DO WORK IN MULTIPLE LOCALES.
SO, UH, WE ARE PART OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
AND I THINK RACHEL MENTIONED THIS A LITTLE BIT.
IF, IF HE DOESN'T, UM, WE, WE WILL BE GOING FORWARD WITH A RISK FINANCIAL RISK ANALYSIS PROCESS TO BRING SOMEONE IN AND HELP US ANALYZE PROGRAMMATICAL RISK.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO IS NOT JUST COSTS AND SCHEDULE, BUT ALSO SAY DB PARTICIPATION.
AND SO HOW WE DIVIDE THE CONTRACTS UP IS A COMPLICATED MATRIX.
IF WE PUT THE ORANGE, I NOTICE ONE CONTRACT, THERE'S VERY LITTLE PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO BID ON THAT.
IF WE PUT IT OUT, WE MIGHT DO CIVIL CONTRACTS, WHICH ARE DIFFERENT THAN SYSTEMS. WE MAY DO ORANGE LINE NORTH VERSUS ORANGE LINE SUB.
WE MAY DO TUNNEL STRUCTURE, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN TUNNEL FINISHING.
ALL OF THOSE HAVE PUT SOME TAKES RELATED TO COSTS, SCHEDULE SUPPLY CHAIN DBE.
SO A LONG WAY TO WAY TO SAY THAT ANALYSIS WILL HAPPEN OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT YEAR.
SO THEN WHEN WE COME TO ENGAGE THE BOARD AND THE GAME KIND OF GOES BACK TO WHAT I SAID, CHAIR EARLIER, THE 30% TIMEFRAME IS WHERE A LOT OF THIS STARTS COMING TOGETHER.
WE HAVE A DESIGN, A BETTER SENSE OF TRUE COMMUNITY DRIVEN DESIGN, COST FRAMEWORK, REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES, AND THE CONTRACTING METHODOLOGIES THAT WILL BEST GET THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK, BUT ALSO ARTICULATE ALL THE VALUE THAT YOU ARE ALL ADOPTING ON.
THINGS LIKE THE ENI LOCAL, AS BEST WE CAN AND TO SHIP WORKFORCE ALL OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
BURNETT, THAT'S NOT TOO LONG, BY THE WAY, IT'S A COMPLEX WAY TO SAY WE WANT AS MANY LOCAL JOBS AS POSSIBLE, BUT NATIONALLY, EVERYONE THAT HAS THE OPPORTUNITY, WHAT WE'RE JUST BEING INTERESTING.
EVERYONE IN THE WORLD HAS BEEN RINGING OFF OUR PHONES RELATED TO CONTRACTORS.
THEY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM WE ARE ON THE NATIONAL RADAR.
PEOPLE ARE READY TO GET INTERESTED IN PROCUREMENTS AT ATP.
I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT, RIGHT? AND I I'M, I DON'T WANT TO MISS, UM, THE MISUNDERSTOOD I'M JESTING AS MANY
[01:40:01]
LOCAL JOBS AS POSSIBLE.THEY'RE GOING TO BE LOCAL JOBS AS POSSIBLE, NOT SUGGESTING TRENT IMPORTING IN, UM, HE WENT TO TAKE LOCAL JOBS.
THAT'S MY, THAT'S NOT WHERE I'M GOING WITH THAT AT ALL.
NOT AT ALL SUPPORT THAT FULLY WHERE I'M GOING IS THAT WE CAST OUR NET WIDE AND BROAD AND THAT WE DON'T JUST BECAUSE OF A LARGER CONTRACTORS SUPPLIERS GOING TO EMPLOY PEOPLE.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THE BIGGEST OF THE BIGGEST CONTRACTS.
THERE'S THERE ARE ONLY X AMOUNT OF FIRMS IN THE WORLD, BUT THEY'LL PROBABLY HAVE SEVEN, 12 SOLVES AND COULD BE FOUR OF THOSE HAVE DDS ON PER PROJECT.
LIKE, SO, UH, I THINK WE'LL, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE GOING TO DO IS NOT ONLY TAKE BOARD MEMBERS TO DIFFERENT CITIES, TO DEEP DIVE IN THEIR PROGRAM, WE'RE GOING TO BRING CASE STUDIES BACK TO THE BOARD TO SAY, HERE'S HOW CONTRACTING WORK AT ONE PLACE AND HOW THEY DIVIDED A PROJECT AND HERE'S PROS AND CONS AND BECAUSE EVERYTHING HAS PORTS AND TAKES.
SO WE'RE KIND OF, AGAIN, THIS IS THE WHOLE PROCESS OF STARTING THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, BUT THEN BILL ALL OF OUR EDUCATIONAL PROCESS FOR YOU ALL TO HAVE TO MAKE PRETTY COMPLICATED DECISIONS, UH, AT SOME POINT.
SO I THINK I APPRECIATE THAT RESPONSE.
ONE LAST COMMENT THAT I HAVE, UM, IN VICKY'S THE BEGINNING OF YOUR PRESENTATION WORDS HAVE POWER.
I WOULD PREFER THAT WE SAY THAT THE PURCHASING POLICY IS NOT THAT IT SUPPORTS THAT THE D AND I POLICY, BUT IT ABIDES BY BECAUSE THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S, UM, WHAT WE'RE, I'M SURE THAT'S THE INTENTION IS THAT WE'RE ABIDING BY THAT IT SHOULDN'T BE SUPPORTING IT.
BURNETT, AND THANK YOU, VICKY.
DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE POLICY.
[V.2. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program Briefing]
GOING TO HAVE A BRIEFING ON THE DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM BY OUR DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND DBE CORNY CHAVEZ.UM, AND SO TO CONTINUE OUR CONVERSATION THAT WE JUST STARTED, DR.
BURNETT, WE'RE GONNA, UM, DO A BRIEF OVER YOU TO, TO START TO STEP BACK AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THE DB PROGRAM IS, AND THEN GET A LITTLE BIT DEEPER INTO GOAL SETTING AND HOW AND WHY WE'RE DOING IT AS WELL AS SOME OF THE NEEDS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING THE BOARD TO DO, INCLUDING APPROVING A GOAL AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, UH, AND WALK YOU THROUGH THAT PROCESS WITH YOU.
AND SO TO START OFF THE DD PROGRAM ITSELF, IT IS A FEDERAL PROGRAM.
IT'S A FEDERAL REGULATION PROGRAM WHERE, UM, ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR HOW WE ARE INTENDED TO IMPLEMENT MONITOR AND, UM, AND, UH, ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM ARE LAID OUT IN 49 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, PART 26.
IT IS A VERY DETAILED, UM, REGULATION, AND THAT IS THE BASELINE REQUIREMENTS.
WHAT WE NEED TO SET OUT TO HAVE A STANDING COMPLIANT DBE PROGRAM, NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO TERMINOLOGY IS IMPORTANT.
IT IS, UH, IT WAS IMPORTANT IN OUR CONVERSATION A LITTLE BIT EARLIER.
IT'S IMPORTANT HERE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DB PROGRAM, WE DO USE LANGUAGE THAT IS, UM, FOUND IN THE REGULATIONS THEMSELVES.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE US REFER TO DBE AS SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES.
UM, WE USE TERMS LIKE RACE CONSCIOUS AND RACE NEUTRAL FOR DBE CERTIFICATION.
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS, UH, USDA HAS IDENTIFIED PRESUMPTIVE GROUPS WHO ARE, UM, IDENTIFIED IN THAT, IN THAT CAPACITY, WHICH INCLUDES USING THEIR LANGUAGE, UM, WOMEN, UH, BLACK AFRICAN-AMERICANS, UH, HISPANIC AMERICANS, ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDERS, AND SUB CON CON ASIAN.
SO CON ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS, AND THEN OTHERS WHO MAY NOT BE LISTED IN THAT CATEGORY, WHO CAN STILL APPLY TO THE PROGRAM.
NEXT SLIDE, THE PROGRAM ITSELF IS DESIGNED TO HAVE FOUR KEY ELEMENTS TO IT.
ONE IS THE PROGRAM DOCUMENT, WHICH OUTLINES HOW WE INTEND TO RUN THE PROGRAM WITHIN THAT.
WE IDENTIFY OUR CAPACITY AND OUR MECHANISMS FOR MONITORING COMPLIANCE AND OVERSIGHT OF OUR CONTRACTING COMMUNITY WHO ARE WORKING ON OUR CONTRACTS.
WE HAVE A PORTION OF FOUR GOAL SETTING METHODOLOGY, WHICH INCLUDES BOTH THE OVERALL DBE GOAL THAT WE EXPECT OVER THE YEAR, AS WELL AS HOW WE INTEND TO, UH, TO REACH THOSE GOALS.
AND THEN SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTING, WHICH MEANS THAT, UM, SEMI-ANNUALLY, WE ARE REPORTING OUT OUR OUTCOMES, OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND IF WE DID NOT MEET OUR GOALS, WE DO EXPLAIN WHY NEXT SLIDE,
[01:45:04]
AS PART OF THE DOCUMENT ITSELF, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT TOPICS ARE COVERED.SO THE POLICY STATEMENT IS OUR COMMITMENT AS AN AGENCY TO, UM, TO CONFIRM THAT WE INTEND TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY, UH, FROM THE HIGHEST LEVELS, ALL THE WAY THAT WE INCLUDE STANDARD CONTRACT ASSURANCES, WHERE EVERY CONTRACT WITH ANY PRIME CONTRACTOR OR SUBCONTRACTOR, WE INCLUDE MECHANISMS FOR, UH, NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSES AND, UH, PROCESSES THAT THEY MUST ABIDE BY CONTRACTUALLY TO ENSURE THAT THAT OUR CONTRACTORS ARE IMPLEMENTING THE DB PROGRAM AS WE SET IT OUT.
UM, THERE'S A DBE LIAISON OFFICER, WHICH IS THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR ANY, ANY SMALL BUSINESS, REALLY THOUGH, PRIMARILY THE DDE THEMSELVES TO CHAT TO, IF THERE'S A PROBLEM OR A CONCERN OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROGRAM ITSELF, WE HAVE PROMPT PAY AND RE RETAINAGE PROVISIONS, MEANING THAT WE'RE ABIDING BY NOT ONLY FEDERAL REGULATIONS, BUT ALSO LOCAL STATE, UH, REGULATIONS AND LAWS THAT, THAT PROVIDES A TIMELINE FOR WHEN A, ANY BUSINESS, ANY SMALL BUSINESS NEEDS TO BE PAID OUT BY THEIR PRIME CONTRACTOR, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT PAYMENT TO BECOME A BARRIER TO SUCCESS FOR ANY DBE OR OTHER SMALL BUSINESS.
UH, WE HAVE TO LAY OUT GOOD FAITH EFFORT CRITERIA, WHICH CARRIES THROUGH THE ENTIRE LIFE OF THE CONTRACT.
SO IF WE'RE LOOKING PRE-BID LIKE VICKI WAS EXPLAINING EARLIER, IF WE SET A GOAL ON A CONTRACT AND A PRIME CONTRACTOR BIDDING SAYS THAT THEY CAN'T MEET THAT GOAL, THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE AS CLEAR DOCUMENTATION AND EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THEY CAN'T MEET THAT GOAL.
AND THEN WE, AS A TEAM WILL EVALUATE WHETHER WE AGREE OR NOT.
AND THEN WHETHER WE CONSIDER THE BID PROPOSAL, UM, COMPLIANT OR NOT.
IN ADDITION, AS YOU'RE LOOKING THROUGH THE CONTRACT ITSELF, THERE ARE OTHER ADDITIONAL MECHANISMS FOR GOOD FAITH WHERE, UM, AS WE'RE MONITORING THE WORK ON THE CONTRACT, WHERE CIRCUMSTANCES COME UP AND A PRIME CONTRACTOR DETERMINES THAT THEY NEED TO REMOVE, OR, UH, WANTS TO TERMINATE A DBE, WE ACTUALLY PRE CREATE MECHANISMS WHERE THEY CANNOT DO THAT WITHOUT OUR APPROVAL.
AND SO THEY MUST COME TO US WITH INFORMATION AS TO WHY, UM, IF WE, IF WE, IN THAT EVALUATION DETERMINED THAT THEY CAN REMOVE A DBE, THEY HAVE TO PUT IN GOOD FAITH EFFORT TO REPLACE WITH ANOTHER DBE.
UM, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL MONITORING MECHANISMS LIKE VICKI MENTIONED ABOUT ENSURING THAT THE APPROPRIATE, UM, PAYMENTS ARE GOING TO THE DBES THAT THEY'RE DOING THE WORK THAT THEY WERE HIRED TO DO THAT ALL THE INTENTS PERFORMED WERE BEING FOLLOWED.
AND SO ALL THEIR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS ARE BEING MET.
THERE'S ALSO A SMALL BUSINESS PROVISION, WHICH IS IN TERMINOLOGY OF RACE-CONSCIOUS RACE NEUTRAL.
THIS IS THE RACE NEUTRAL PORTION OF THE DBE PROGRAM WHERE, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS ASKING US TO CREATE MECHANISMS THAT ENSURE THAT ALL SMALL BUSINESSES BEYOND DBES ALSO HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO OUR CONTRACTS, UM, AND THEN GOAL SETTING, WHICH IS A TWO-STEP PROCESS.
NEXT SLIDE GOAL SETTING MORE SPECIFICALLY THE PURPOSE OF GOAL SETTING IS TO REALLY EVALUATE THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN OUR COMMUNITY TO DETERMINE WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OUR, OUR, OUR, UH, FISCALLY OUR CONTRACTS OVER THE FISCAL YEAR ARE EXPECTED TO GO TO DBES.
AND SO IT HAS TO BE BASED ON DEMONSTRABLE EVIDENCE.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY WE SEE THE NUMBERS, THE WAY THAT THEY ARE, AND THEN BUILD OUT AN OVERALL GOAL.
THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WE WORK TOWARDS FOR THAT FOR THE, FOR THE YEAR.
NEXT SLIDE, WE'RE CREATING THAT GOAL.
STEP ONE IS CREATING THE BASE FIGURE.
AND THAT IS PREDOMINANTLY A MATHEMATICAL CALCULATION WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR EXPECTED PROCUREMENTS DURING THE FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE BREAKING IT DOWN BY, UH, WORK SCOPES AND THEN WORK CODES SO THAT WE CAN THEN IDENTIFY WHAT DBES ARE AVAILABLE TO DO THAT WORK WITHIN OUR MARKET AREA, WHICH FOR US, THAT WOULD BE TEXAS.
UM, AND THEN WE DIVIDE THAT NUMBER BY ALL THE FIRMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN OUR MARKET AREA TO GET THAT BASE LINE NUMBER.
WE DO WEIGHT IT BASED ON THE AMOUNT THAT'S BUDGETED FOR EACH WORK CODE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET A MORE ACCURATE PERCENTAGE.
NEXT SLIDE, STEP TWO IS THE PROCESS OF ADJUSTING OUR BASE FIGURE.
AND SO THIS IS WHERE WE TAKE OUR BASELINE FIGURE THAT WE'VE DETERMINED.
AND THEN WE DO ADDITIONAL EVALUATIONS.
WE LOOK AT STUDIES AND THAT GOES BEYOND A, ANY CAP, METRO ATP DISPARITY, OR AVAILABILITY STUDY THAT WE DO, WE CAN ALSO, AND SHOULD ALSO BE LOOKING AT OTHER STUDIES THAT HAVE RECENTLY BEEN DONE IN OUR REGION.
[01:50:01]
A, UM, UH, PUB INVOLVEMENT DISCUSSIONS WITH INTERESTED PARTIES.SO TALKING TO LOCAL CHAMBERS, BUSINESS OWNERS, ANYONE WHO HAS AN INTEREST IN THE PROGRAM ITSELF TO GATHER INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK ON HOW THEY VIEW THE PROGRAM, UM, WHAT THEY'RE SEEING IN THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY, SO THAT WE CAN THEN DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED TO SHIFT OUR NUMBER BASED ON THAT FEEDBACK BEFORE WE SHOULD NUMBER, WE ACTUALLY NEED TO CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE METHODOLOGY OF WHY WE DECIDED TO SHIFT FROM OUR INITIAL, UM, BASELINE GOAL TO, TO THIS NEW ADJUSTED GOAL.
AND THEN WE CREATE AN OVERALL CALCULATION.
THAT'S BROKEN UP INTO A RACE CONSCIOUS PORTION AND A RACE NEUTRAL PORTION.
SO TO MAKE THAT EASIER TO UNDERSTAND, UH, THE RACE NEUTRAL PORTION IS WHAT WE EXPECT TO OCCUR ON A PROJECT, UM, ABSENT OUR REAL EFFORT.
AND SO IT'S MORE OF THE ORGANIC, AS LONG AS WE ARE ALERTING PEOPLE OF THE EXISTENCE OF THESE PROJECTS AND TELLING THEM HOW TO BID, THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET ONTO OUR CONTRACTS.
THE RACE CONSCIOUS PORTION IS WHAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO SPECIFICALLY FOR DBES, WHICH GOES TO CONTRACT GOAL SETTING, WHICH MEANS THAT EVERY INDIVIDUAL CONTRACT THAT COMES THROUGH AND THEN I'M EVALUATING, I'M LOOKING TO SEE IF I CAN SET THAT RACE CONSCIOUS GOALS, THAT GOAL THAT WILL REQUIRE A PRIME TO USE DBES FOR THAT PERCENTAGE AMOUNT.
SO MOVING INTO HOW WE GET INTO OUR OWN ATP SPECIFIC GOAL AND PROGRAM, UM, OUR FIRST STEP IS TO START WITH ADOPTING CAT METRO'S BASELINE GOAL.
AND SO I'LL TELL YOU WHY WE SELECT A CAT METROS, AND WE'LL WALK THROUGH THAT A BIT.
UM, NEXT ATP DOESN'T HAVE A HISTORY YET OF GOAL SETTING.
AND SO WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN RELY ON, UH, ON OUR OWN, BECAUSE CAT METRO IS INNER REGION.
IT'S A TRANSIT AS A TRANSIT AGENCY THAT WE'RE VERY CLOSELY CONNECTED TO.
WE CAN UTILIZE THEIR GOAL AS WELL.
OUR STARTING POINT FROM THERE, IT WILL ALLOW US TO SET GOALS ON CONTRACTS.
IT WILL ALLOW US TO GET A DB PROGRAM UP AND STANDING.
AND SO THEN IT ALLOW US TO MOVE FORWARD ON ADJUSTING THE BASELINE GOAL OVER THE NEXT YEAR, WHICH IS WHERE STEP TWO COMES INTO.
WE'RE GOING TO BE UTILIZING AVAILABILITY AND DISPARITY STUDIES.
WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING THROUGH EVERY STEP OF THE PROCESS TO REEVALUATE NOT ONLY WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY, BUT WHERE WE SEE OURSELVES HEADING OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS WITH PROCUREMENTS, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT OUR GOAL IS ACCURATE BASED ON ATP CONTRACTS, BECAUSE OUR CONTRACTS WILL SHIFT.
IT WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM CAP METRO IN THE FUTURE, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CONSTRUCTION AND HEAVY CIVIL CONSTRUCTION OF SUBWAY BILL.
SO OUR GOAL IS BY NEXT SUMMER, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROPOSE A HTP SPECIFIC GOAL BASED ON ALL OF THAT INFORMATION ON ALL OF THAT REVIEW AND ALSO PUBLIC DISCUSSION, UM, SO THAT WE CAN USE THAT MOVING FORWARD SIMULTANEOUSLY, EVEN THOUGH I HAVE IT AT STEP FOUR AND STEP FIVE, IT'S REALLY DONE SIMULTANEOUSLY THAT, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE SETTING UP THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY PROGRAMS. WE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH VICKY ON THE PROCUREMENT SIDE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PIECES OF THE CONTRACTS WE CAN, UM, TARGET FOR SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDES POSSIBLE, WHAT WE CAN DO AS A TEAM TO ENSURE INFORMATION, TO SHARE IT OUT TO OUR DBES, WHAT WE CAN DO TO BUILD OUT AND BRING IN MORE DBS INTO THE PROGRAM.
SO WHAT WE WILL DO, WE'LL BE ASKING YOU TO DO AT THE NEXT MEETING IS FOR, IS TO ALLOW US TO ADOPT CAT IS TRIANGLE OF 19% AS OUR BASELINE FIGURE GOAL.
UM, I CAN WALK YOU THROUGH BRIEFLY WHAT CAP METRO DID, WHICH IS THEY DID FOLLOW THE FDA GUIDELINES OF HOW TO REACH THIS GOAL.
SO THEIR FIRST STEP WAS TO EVALUATE THEIR OWN, UH, PROCUREMENTS FROM FY 20 TO 22.
THEY LOOKED AT THE, THE, UH, THE WORK CODES AND DIVIDED IT BY DBES, UH, DBS DIVIDED BY ALL FIRMS IN ORDER TO GET THAT, THAT OVERALL NUMBER FOR THEIR BASELINE FIGURE.
AND THEN THEY ALSO WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS TO ADJUST THAT FIGURE, UM, HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH LOCAL CHAMBERS, HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH, UH, COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS AND ALSO PROVIDING A 30 DAY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR, UH, ANYONE INTERESTED IN PR IN PRISON FEEDBACK, NEXT SLIDE.
SO ALL OF THAT WAS ABOUT WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO JUST GET A PROGRAM STANDING.
THIS IS THE COMPLIANCE PIECE OF IT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, WITH THE DBE PROGRAM ITSELF, UH, BEYOND THAT ONCE WE ARE STANDING AND MOVING FORWARD, THERE ARE A LOT OF ADDITIONAL PIECES THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE BUILDING IN.
SO YES, WE WOULD MONITORING COMPLIANCE.
WE'LL BE MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE IS TREATED THE WAY THAT THEY NEED TO BE TREATED AND, UM, BEING PAID EFFECTIVELY AND BEING, AND MOVING THEIR PROJECTS FORWARD.
[01:55:01]
PARTICIPATION.IT WE'LL BE REPORTING, UH, UTILIZATION RATES AS PER REQUIRED, BUT ON TOP OF THAT, THAT WE'LL BE DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.
IT WILL BE MAKING SURE THAT THAT DBES AND OTHER BUSINESSES KNOW HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH, WITH ATP, LIKE VICKI WAS MENTIONING, WE'RE GOING TO DEVELOP MENTORING PROGRAMS, UM, TO ENSURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND HOW TO BUILD CAPACITY.
AND SO THE PORT DBES TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE CAPACITY BUILDING AND GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES, UM, WE CAN FIND ENDS TO KEEP NEGOTIATING INNOVATIVE WAYS TO WORK WITH PROCUREMENTS AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO THERE.
WE HAVE PLANS TO CONNECT WITH USDA T AND FTA ON WHAT WE CAN DO BEYOND THE DBE PROGRAM TO EXPAND.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHICH I THINK COMMISSIONER, UH, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS, YOU MENTIONED, THIS IS THE FEEDBACK LOOPS.
SO WE WILL, WE WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY CONNECT DEEPLY WITH THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT CHALLENGES THEY HAVE, NOT JUST WITH DBES, BUT WITH CONTRACTING IN GENERAL, UM, WHAT THEY'RE SEEING, WHAT THE CHALLENGES ARE, AND ALSO USING OUR OWN, UH, COMMITTEES THAT HAVE BEEN SET UP TO DO THIS AS WELL.
AND I BELIEVE THAT IS MY LAST SLIDE.
AND SO I KNOW THAT THEY'RE PROBABLY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DBE PROGRAM.
IT'S A, IT IS A COMPLEX, VERY WORDY REGULATION, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS FOR HER MS. CHAVEZ? YES.
MR. ELKINS, UH, THANKS, MATT AND SHARE.
THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION.
THAT'S GOING TO GO INTO THIS TB POLICY.
UM, YOU MENTIONED ONE THING WHICH IS KIND OF, UM, I THINK YOU ALLUDED TO ENLARGING IT W WHAT WE CLEARLY WANT TO DO IS WE MAY HAVE A DBE BASE RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S X, HOW DO WE MAKE THAT BASE BIGGER? UH, AND THAT'S THROUGH PERHAPS APPRENTICE PROGRAMS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WHAT THINGS CAN WE DO NOW THROUGH, UM, THE VARIOUS COMMUNITY COLLEGES, THE OTHER SCHOOLS TO KIND OF GET FOLKS THE NECESSARY SKILLS SO THAT THEY'RE ELIGIBLE TO BID ON THESE PROJECTS AND WORK ON THESE PROJECTS AS DBS, YOU KNOW, IN A COUPLE OF YEARS WHEN THEY COME OUT TO BED, I, WE DON'T NEED TO HAVE THE ANSWERS, BUT THE MORE WE CAN DO TO KIND OF INCREASE THE BASE.
NOW, GIVEN THAT WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF YEARS, OBVIOUSLY THE BETTER OFF WE'LL BE.
AND THE OTHER THING YOU MENTIONED KIND OF, AS YOU KNOW, IS REMOVING IMPEDIMENTS FOR DBS.
ONE OF THE BIG ONES HAPPENS TO BE INSURANCE.
SO, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF CONTRACTORS CAN DO WHAT'S CALLED WRAP UP INSURANCE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, WHERE THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, BOND DOWN TO THE SUB.
SO WHEN WE CAN THINK OF WAYS AND, AND PROMOTE CONTRACTORS TO IN REMOVING IMPEDIMENTS, SO THESE DBS CAN PLAY THAT'S, THAT'S ALL OF OUR BENEFIT.
SO JUST THINGS TO THINK ABOUT.
SO TONY IS READING MY NOTES THERE.
UM, I WAS GOING TO SAY THE, UM, THE MUCH OF THE SAME THING.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU AND BIGGIE PUT INTO BUSINESS.
UM, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
AND I WAS, I JUST WANT TO, RE-EMPHASIZE BROADENING THAT BASE AND FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, NOT ASSUMING THAT OTHERS KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO I JUST REALLY WANT TO CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT SO THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE, UM, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DO NOW WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH, IF WE HAVE THAT KIND OF INVOLVEMENT ON THIS, WE WOULD HAVE LIFTED THE BAR FOR AUSTIN AND IN GENERAL, AND THAT WOULD BE A WONDERFUL THING.
SO I'VE TAKEN NOTE OF THAT AND I, AND I AGREE.
UM, SO IF I UNDERSTAND THIS CORRECTLY, THE 19% THAT WE'RE ESTABLISHING USING CAPITOL METRO'S POLICY, CURRENT POLICY, SO STARTING POINT, BUT IT ALSO MEANS THAT THIS IS NOT A MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.
I MEAN, IT IS A MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.
IT JUST DOESN'T CAP THEM, RIGHT.
IT CAN HAVE A 25%, 30%, 45% MINORITY PARTICIPATION.
AND SO IF I CAN PROVIDE SOME CLARITY, SO THE 19% IS THE OVERALL AND THE EXPECTATION FOR THE WHOLE YEAR OF WHAT THE, UH, DB PARTICIPATION WILL BE.
SO WITHIN THE YEAR, WE LOOK AT CONTRACTS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH EVERY PROCUREMENT THAT COMES THROUGH, AND WE UTILIZE THOSE PROCUREMENTS AS SET RACE, CONSCIOUS GOALS IN ORDER TO REACH THAT OVERALL DBE GOAL ANNUALLY.
AND SO IT BECOMES A CALCULATION.
SO THE 19% IS THE ANNUAL GOAL THAT CAP METRO IDENTIFIED THROUGH THEIR PROCESSES AS WHAT THEY EXPECTED, TOTAL PARTICIPATION, TO BE ON THEIR CONTRACTS THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 20, THEN AGAIN, THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 21.
AND THEN AGAIN, THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 22.
AND SO THEY WILL BE GOING THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS.
WE ARE WHERE WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHETHER THAT GOAL IS STILL ACCURATE FOR THEM.
[02:00:01]
LOOK AT WHETHER WE NEED TO RAISE THE GOAL BASED ON ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE IN WHAT ARCHITECTURE.SO THIS IS REALLY CUMULATIVE FOR ALL THE CONTRACTS.
IT'S NOT JUST ONE CONTRACT SPECIFIC THAT THEY HAVE TO MEET THESE THAT'S CORRECT.
IT'S CUMULATIVE FOR ALL OF THE CONTRACTS AND WHAT WE EXPECT FOR THE ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR OF WHAT, UM, DBES WILL PARTICIPATE ON.
WE USE THE CONTRACT SPECIFIC GOAL SETTING AS A MECHANISM TO REACH THAT, THAT OVERALL ARCHING GOAL.
AND IS THIS THE VALUE OF THE CONTRACT? NOT THE NUMBER OF CONTRACTS, CORRECT.
BECAUSE I MEAN, NOT ALL CONTRACTS ARE GOING TO BE, ARE GOING TO HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF THAT'S.
SO, AND SO TOO, AND I KNOW IT GETS INTO THE WEEDS A LITTLE BIT ON HOW WE DO GOAL SETTING.
UM, BUT TO GIVE YOU A BIGGER PICTURE WHEN I'M TALKING ABOUT RACE CONSCIOUS GOALS IN PARTICULAR, SO SETTING OUT RACE NEUTRAL ASIDE, IF I'M TALKING ABOUT RACE CONSCIOUS GOALS IN PARTICULAR, WHAT WE DO ON EVERY CONTRACT IS WE TAKE THE CONTRACT AND LOOK AT THE WORK SCOPE DIRECTLY.
FROM THERE WE LOOK, WE BREAK IT DOWN INTO WORK CODES AND ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHO IS AVAILABLE PER WORK CODE FOR THAT ONE CONTRACT, UM, ON THE DBE SIDE, SO THAT WE CAN THEN SHOW A METHODOLOGY FOR HOW WE SET A RACE-CONSCIOUS GOAL ON THAT ONE CONTRACT.
THEN WE'RE DOING THAT FOR SUBSEQUENT CONTRACT CONTRACTS.
AFTER THAT AT THE END OF THE SIX MONTH TIMEFRAME PERIOD, WE THEN DO A FULL MATHEMATICAL CALCULATION TO UNDERSTAND, NOT ONLY DID WE MEET THE GOALS, HOW MANY POINTS, HOW MANY, HOW MUCH MONEY WAS PAID TO DBES AND THEN REPORT OUT ON IT TO GIVE THE OVERARCHING PICTURE OF WHAT WE'RE ACHIEVING FOR ALL OF THOSE CONTRACTS TOGETHER.
AND THAT'S GOING TO BE REALLY COMPLEX.
SO I KNOW MADE HER, OR DO YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? THANK YOU, COURTNEY.
AND, AND THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT IS BOTH, BOTH TECHNICAL AND IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY.
I JUST WANT TO SAY, I APPRECIATE YOU LAYING THIS OUT IN THAT DETAIL AND YOU LAYING IT OUT AS A DISCUSSION ITEM ON OUR AGENDA, SO THAT THE COMMUNITY, UH, IF IT WANTS TO GO AWAY, HE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT BEFORE WE, UH, ACT AT OUR NEXT MONTH'S MEETING.
UH, BUT JUST ALSO WANT TO SHARE THAT THIS IS THE TIME TO DO THAT.
UH, SO, UH, WHAT DO INVITE THE COMMUNITY TO DO THAT? UH, THIS OPPORTUNITIES IN PART PROVIDED FOR THEM, UH, TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN.
UH, BUT THIS IS THE TIME THAT I INVITE EVERYONE TO REACH OUT TO ME AND TO THE OTHERS ON THE BOARD OR TO, UH, ATP, IF THEY, UH, UH, HAVE ANY THOUGHTS OR, OR, OR SUGGESTIONS, THANKS FOR THIS WORK.
AND IF I CAN ADD ALSO, UM, THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL TIMES AS WELL THAT PLEASE GIVE THE FEEDBACK NOW, BUT ALSO WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD IN OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO, UM, LISTEN TO THE FEEDBACK THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS AND AS THE YEARS CONTINUE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MEMBERS.
UH, THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, COURTNEY, JUST WANT TO ECHO THANKS FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE HERE, BECAUSE THIS IS, I KNOW AT, UH, THE CAP METRO SIDE OF THINGS, THAT THIS HAS BEEN A, A VERY BIG ISSUE THAT, THAT MY, MY COLLEAGUES HAVE EXPRESSED A VERY GREAT INTEREST IN, UH, IN UNDERSTANDING AND ENSURING, UH, SEVERAL OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT, UH, THAT, THAT WE, TO WHAT, UH, BOTH, UH, BOARD MEMBER ALBURNETT AND ELKINS HAVE EXPRESSED THAT, THAT WE ARE NOT JUST NOT JUST, I SUPPOSE, UM, DOTTING I'S AND CROSSING T'S, BUT, BUT ALSO AS IT WERE BUILDING THE FARM TEAM, LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY ENHANCE AND INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY AND GROW, UH, POTENTIAL, UH, DBE PARTICIPANTS WITHIN THE PLAYING FIELD, ESPECIALLY HERE LOCALLY, UM, JUST TO, TO KIND OF CLOSE THE LOOP ON THIS AND MAKE SURE THAT, THAT I'VE GOT A GOOD FIRM UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE APPLY THIS.
UM, SO ONCE THAT GOAL IS SET AND THAT IS, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THIS YEAR GOAL, AND THIS IS GOING TO BE OUT.
THIS IS GOING TO BE, WE'RE TAKING CAP METROS TO START WITH, AND THAT OF COURSE WILL BE CHANGING AS THREE YEARS FROM NOW OR DOWN THE ROAD W TAP NET PRO DEALS AND, YOU KNOW, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CONTRACTS.
WE'RE GOING TO BE DEALING IN, IN THE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS AND EVEN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF CONTRACTS, DEPENDING AS, AS, UH, RANDY SAID EARLIER, YOU KNOW, HOW WE DECIDED TO BREAK UP THE ORANGE LINE AND THE BLUE LINE IS THE END OF THE TUNNEL WAS THE, THE BIG CHUNKS OF THINGS HERE, BUT THOSE NUMBERS ARE GOING TO BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE THAT 19% COULD VERY WELL.
[02:05:01]
UP.IT'S REALLY GOING TO LOOK AT, UH, OR MIGHT GO DOWN.
IT'S REALLY GONNA DEPEND ON WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, BASED ON THOSE, UH, THOSE, UM, UH, THOSE DIFFERENT CODES AND WHAT THE, THE, THE, THE, THE DIFFERENT EVALUATIONS ARE APPLYING THE TECHNICAL GUIDANCE THAT THE, THE FTA, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAYS, THIS IS WHAT YOU MUST USE.
THIS IS THE FORMULA YOU HAVE TO USE.
AM I, AM I ON THE SAME PAGE SO FAR RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT'S HOW THAT GOES.
SO WHEN YOU GET TO AN INDIVIDUAL CONTRACT, THEN, UH, YOU WERE MENTIONING THIS EARLIER ABOUT THE GOAL SETTING, UM, YOUR WRITING OR REQUESTS FOR PROPOSAL.
WE'RE PUTTING SOMETHING OUT THERE TO THE, TO, TO, OUT ON THE STREETS, TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, NATIONALLY SAYING, OKAY, WE WE'RE, WE'RE READY NOW TO, TO PUT A BID OUT FOR A PORTION OF THE ORANGE LINE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, TO DO SOME CONSTRUCTION WORK HERE, THE RFP ITSELF WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE A SECTION IN THERE FOR THE DBE PROGRAM, WITH THAT GOAL ALREADY INCLUDED, RIGHT? CAUSE YOU GOT, IS THAT WHEN THAT GETS WRITTEN IN THERE, AS YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY DONE THE MATH, YOU FIGURED OUT THIS IS WHAT WE THINK WE NEED.
AND YOU'RE GOING TO SAY THAT WHOEVER IS BIDDING HERE, WE EXPECT YOU ON THIS CONTRACT FOR ORANGE LINE CONSTRUCTION.
YOU NEED TO HAVE INCLUDED A, YOU KNOW, SOMEHOW TO SHOW, PROVE TO US IN YOUR, AND YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS BID FOR CONSTRUCTION WORK WITH US ATP THAT YOU'RE GOING TO MEET.
AND IT COULD BE MAYBE 12% FOR THAT ONE CONTRACT MIGHT BE 9%, COULD BE 15%.
AM I, AM I STILL ON THE SAME PAGE? IS THAT CORRECT? YOU'RE STILL CORRECT.
SO THEN AT THAT POINT, WE'RE GOING TO GET MULTIPLE BITS.
THAT'S GOING TO COME IN FOR THE STAFF TO LOOK AT AND REVIEW, AND THAT DBE IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE CRITERIA THAT YOU'RE GOING TO REVIEW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK AT.
AND SO ALL OF THESE FARMS THAT ARE THESE BIG, BIG FIRMS, THEY'RE GOING TO BE BIDDING FOR BUSINESS THAT WANT TO COME TO AUSTIN AND BUILD THAT SECTION OF THE ORANGE LINE OF THIS USING MY EXAMPLE ARE GOING TO COME TO THE TABLE AND SAY, HI, YOU KNOW, ACME HERE IS GOING TO BREED BRINGING WITH THEM, YOU KNOW, THREE DIFFERENT POTENTIAL DBES SUBCONTRACTORS.
THEY'RE GOING TO, THEY'RE GOING TO COME AND TELL YOU WHEN THEY COME TO THE TABLE, THEY'RE GOING TO SAY, HERE'S OUR BID.
AND OUR BID HAS THE FOLLOWING THREE SUBCONTRACTORS THAT ARE MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES THAT MEET THE DBE CRITERIA THAT WE SAY WE'RE READY AND ARE ABLE, AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE OUR PARTNERS WHEN WE COME TO THE TABLE.
IS THAT, THAT, THAT REALLY KIND OF THE WAY IT WORKS AS WELL? YEAH.
AND YOU'RE STILL AT, YOU'RE STILL IN LINE WITH HOW WE WOULD BE OPERATING IN EVALUATING EACH OF THOSE PIECES.
AND SO THEN YOUR THEN YOUR JOB AS STAFF IS GOING TO BE LOOKING AT EACH ONE OF THE DIFFERENT EACH ONE OF THE DIFFERENT RESPONDENTS THAT SUBMITS THEIR INFORMATION IN TO SEE AS PART OF THIS, HOW THAT WORKS UNDER DBE AND FIND OUT OKAY.
AND YOU'RE GOING TO AWARD THEM CRITERIA POINTS BASED ON, DOES IT LOOK LIKE, ARE THEY, ARE THEY, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY IN LINE WITH, WITH WHAT NEEDS TO, WITH WHAT YOU GUYS FEEL? IS IT LEGITIMATE? IS IT CORRECT? IS IT, ARE THEY COMPLETELY OFF BASE HERE AND THROWING, OR ARE THEY, ARE, ARE THEY BEING, YOU KNOW, CAN THEY REALLY MEET THAT CRITERIA BASICALLY, OR, OR, OR NOT, YOU KNOW, AND WHATEVER THE POINT SCALE IS THAT YOU ALL ARE EVALUATED ON FOR THAT.
SO I WILL, I WILL TWEAK IT A BIT TO SAY THAT, UM, IN THE EVALUATION, WE LOOK AT THE INTENSE TO PERFORM WHERE THEY LIST THE SUBCONTRACTORS OUT AND ENSURE THAT, THAT THEY ARE DBE FIRMS MAKING SURE THAT, UM, THE INFORMATION IS VALID, ACCURATE, THAT IT, THAT IT MEETS THE CRITERIA THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, WE'RE ALSO EVALUATING THAT GOOD FAITH EFFORT PIECE FOR ANY CONTRACTOR WHO WERE TO COME FORWARD AND SAY, UM, WE TRY TO MEET THAT GOAL.
AND WE COULDN'T, AND HERE'S WHY, AND ALL OF THAT GOES INTO OUR EVALUATION.
AND THEN, AND THEN WHENEVER WE AWARD SOME SOMETHING TO THEM, WHEN THE, WHEN, WHEN THE CONTRACTS ACTUALLY PUT IN PLACE AND IT'S AWARDED, THEN AFTER THAT'S TAKEN CARE OF THE FLIP SIDE OF IT IS WE'RE DOING CONTINUAL CONTRACT MONITORING TO ENSURE THAT YES, INDEED.
WHAT THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO DO IN RELATION TO DBE.
I, I THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME WALK DOWN THAT TRAIL.
THIS IS AS, AS YOU'VE POINTED OUT, AND AS EVERYBODY ELSE NOTED, THIS IS AN ISSUE.
THERE IS SO MUCH TECHNICAL DETAIL TO THIS.
THERE'S SOME THINGS I RECOGNIZE.
AND, AND I'VE, I'VE, I'VE FELT I'VE SEEN THIS ON THE, UH, WITH, UH, WITH CAP METRO BOARD TOO.
THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT ARE WITHIN OUR CONTROL THAT, THAT I BELIEVE WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO AS, AS BOARD MEMBERS, AS STAFF WITH ATP.
SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN'T, BECAUSE IT IS LARGELY
[02:10:01]
GIVEN TO US BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THEY, THEY DICTATE WHAT THE GUIDELINES AND THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE.UM, BUT I JUST, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WALKING THROUGH THIS, THAT, THAT I'M KIND OF UNDERSTANDING, AND THAT THE, THAT, THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS HOW THE PROCESS AND HOW THE PROCEDURES WORK TO GET BACK IN ECHOING WHAT TONY SAID.
AND I THINK WE'LL CALL, IT SAID IF THERE'S WAYS THAT WE CAN GO BACK TO FTA AND SAY, HEY, WE'D LIKE TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE INNOVATIVE AND EITHER PROVIDE SOME EXTRA OR, YOU KNOW, CARROTS AND STICKS WHEN IT RELATES TO THIS.
I AM COMPLETELY ON BOARD WITH THAT EVEN AS WE ON THE FRONT END ARE TRYING TO, AS TONY SAID IN THE FIRST, NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS HERE, FIGURING OUT WAYS TO GROW THE FARM TEAM, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S ALSO ALSO KEY AS WELL.
I THINK ERIC, I THINK THE KEY THING TO FOCUS ON RELATING TO CARROTS AND STICKS IS THESE ARE TARGETS, UH, DB TARGETS.
IT'S NOT AN ABSOLUTE MANDATE, RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW, PROCUREMENT AND PEOPLE LIKE VICKI AND COURTNEY ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE GET SELECTED THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, UH, DB FIRMS THAT ARE PRE-QUALIFIED AND ALL THAT.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF THEY DON'T HIT THEIR TARGETS, WHAT DO WE DO? RIGHT.
SO THAT GETS BACK TO THE EARLIER COMMENT.
HOW CAN WE BE MORE INNOVATIVE TO REWARD AND PENALIZED? BECAUSE THERE ARE INSTANCES WHERE PEOPLE CAN'T HIT THE NUMBER AND MAYBE THEY SHOULD'VE HATED IT, BUT THEY DIDN'T TRY HARD ENOUGH.
AND SHOULD THEY GET A GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD FOR THAT? I DON'T KNOW.
YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THAT.
AND THE FEDERAL, WELL REGULATIONS ARE THE, ARE THE BAR, NOT THE CEILING, THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT FROM THAT.
YOU'RE NOT RESTRICTING US TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S WHAT WE SAID THIS BUDGET IS GOING TO DO.
SO I THINK THAT SHOULD BE CONTINUOUS.
IT IS NOT, IT IS THE FLOOR PLAN, THE PLAT, THE PLATFORM.
IT'S NOT THE CEILING PINPOINT.
AND I KNOW MS. DACA, YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP TOO, THE CHAIR AND COURTNEY.
UM, I JUST ASK YOU, AS YOU CRAFT YOUR DBE POLICIES TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE INTERNAL ATP POLICIES FOR PARTICIPATION IN YOUR, YOUR, YOUR CONTRACTING.
IN OTHER WORDS, SOMETIMES THE ANSWER WE GET IS DETERMINED BY THE QUESTION THAT WE ASK.
SO IT'S EASY FOR A LOT OF FIRMS TO PARTICIPATE IF THEY HAVE, UH, IF THEY'RE WELL-STAFFED IN THERE AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE SEASONED AND THEY CAN SORT OF TURN OUT RESPONSES TO RFPS, UM, AND OTHER COMPANIES MAYBE JUST DON'T HAVE THAT BANDWIDTH.
SO HOW DO YOU SORT OF RESET THAT PARTICIPATION THRESHOLD? THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT PRESENTATION, MS. CHAVEZ, DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? NO, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
[V.3. Integrated Model Review & Proposed Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Briefing]
WE'RE MOVING ON TO OUR THIRD DISCUSSION ITEM, A BRIEFING ON THE INTEGRATED MODEL REVIEW AND PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022 BY OUR ATP, CHIEF FINANCIAL AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, GREG FINALE AND BUDGET DIRECTOR, DIANE SEILER.UM, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY THIS AFTERNOON TO SPEAK WITH YOU AND THE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY ABOUT, UH, ATPS FIRST, UM, FULL YEAR, UH, BUDGET OR PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, AS YOU SAID, UH, DIANE SEIDLER IS JOINING ME AND SHE'S GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, BUT BEFORE WE STARTED, I THINK IT'S JUST IMPORTANT TO KIND OF DO A, UM, KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHERE WE'VE BEEN.
I THINK WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS MEETING, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'VE BEEN SINCE LAST AUGUST AND THE SUCCESS WE'VE HAD AND HOW WE'RE CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND JUST TO PUT SOME CONTEXT AROUND WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET BEFORE WE GO INTO THIS UPCOMING ANNUAL BUDGET, UM, HOW IT FITS INTO THE OVERALL, UM, PROCESS OF BUILDING OUT PROJECT CONNECT AND SEQUENCING PLAN.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I THINK IT MIGHT BE TWO SLIDES.
SO WHAT, IT'S JUST KIND OF TAKE US BACK A LITTLE BIT AND TALK ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN FUNDAMENTAL TO REALLY THE IDEA OF ATPS EXISTENCE, UM, AND CREATION OF ATP BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND BY CAPITAL METRO, UH, TO CREATE, UH, THE INDEPENDENT BOARD TO OVERSEE, UH, PROJECT CONNECT IMPLEMENTATION.
IT REALLY STARTED BACK WITH LOOKING AT, UH, BOTH CONCEPTUAL COST ESTIMATES, AS WELL AS BASELINE FUNDING SOURCES.
SO ON THE COST ESTIMATE SIDE, WE INITIALLY LOOKED AT THE CAPITAL COST, UH, WHICH INCLUDE LIKE NORMAL, ANY CAPITAL PROJECT, ANY BIG PROGRAM COST INCLUDES THE STAFFING REQUIRED FOR THAT.
[02:15:01]
ALL THE CONSULTANTS REQUIRED FOR THAT AS WELL AS THE HARD CONSTRUCTION COST.SO BOTH THE KIND OF SOFT COSTS AND HARD COSTS.
UM, AND WHAT IS SO INTRIGUING ABOUT ARE ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN DONE HERE FOR PROJECT CONNECT IS THE FUNDING REGIME THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, NOT ONLY FUNDS THE BUILDING OF THE PROJECT, BUT IT FUNDS THE OPERATIONS OF THE PROJECT AND IT FUNDS THE STATE OF GOOD REPAIR OF THE PROJECTS.
AND THEN REALLY UNIQUELY FOR AUSTIN.
WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO CRAFT A, UH, AN ELECTION THAT WAS ABLE TO FUND $300 MILLION IN ANTI-DISPLACEMENT AND YOU, AS A BOARD, I'VE ALREADY PUT IN PLACE, UM, UH, AN INTER LOCAL TO HELP ACCELERATE AND MOVE FORWARD THAT FUNDING.
UM, SO THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED WITH ON THAT, ON THE, ON THE FUNDING SOURCE SIDE OF IT, WE HAD SOME BASELINE FUNDING AND THAT INCLUDED THE PROPOSITION, A VOTE THAT THE VOTERS OF AUSTIN, UH, SUCCESSFULLY APPROVED LAST NOVEMBER, UM, CAPITOL METRO IS INCLUDING FUNDING ON AN ANNUAL BASIS FROM ITS REVENUE SOURCES, INCLUDING ITS SALES TAX.
AND THEN KEY, THE REALLY KEY PART OF THIS IS MARRYING ALL THAT WITH OUR FEDERAL FUNDING.
SO THAT WAS OUR BASELINE WHERE WE WERE LAST YEAR.
UM, AND WITH THAT, WE BROUGHT THOSE TOGETHER TO DO TWO THINGS.
FIRST, WE CREATE AN INTEGRATED FINANCIAL MODEL, WHICH IS REALLY THE MODEL THAT WE ARE USING YEAR IN YEAR OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT DIRECTION DIRECTIONALLY, WE ARE ON THE RIGHT PLACE FROM, UH, FROM A REVENUE STREAM AND A CASHFLOW PERSPECTIVE AS IT RELATES TO OUR, OUR, OUR, OUR NEEDS FOR THE PROJECT THAT WENT HAND IN GLOVE, THE SEQUENCING PLAN, THAT IS ACTUALLY PART OF, UH, THE, THE CONTRACT AND THE VOTE WITH THE, WITH THE VOTERS IN TERMS OF ACCOMPLISHING THE MANY ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM, ALL THE VARIOUS PROJECTS.
SO THAT'S KIND OF, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.
AND WE CAN KIND OF KEEP THAT AS OUR, UM, SOMEWHAT AS OUR TABULA RASA AS WE MOVE FORWARD OUR DAYS AND OUR WEEKS AND OUR MONTHS IN TERMS OF, UH, IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT CONNECT, UH, PROGRAM.
UM, BUT WE WANT TO LOOK AHEAD AND WE'RE GOING TO SHOW YOU WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THIS BECAUSE IT'S NOT A STATIC EFFORT.
UM, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO ASSESS WHERE WE ARE.
SO IN THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, KIND OF LOOKING AHEAD WHERE WE'RE GOING AND THE FIRST THING, JUST TO STOP QUICKLY WHEN WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, AND YOU ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT THIS AS THIS IDEA OF THE INTERDEPENDENCIES BETWEEN THE COST, UM, UH, THE SCHEDULE, THE COSTS, AND ALSO THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO, TO GET TO THAT COST THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECTS, AND THEN THE SCHEDULES OF PROJECT.
THEY ALL THREE WORK INTERDEPENDENTLY, AND AS WE MAKE CHANGES TO ONE THERE'S CHANGES TO THE OTHERS.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, LOOKING AHEAD ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, WE WANT TO LOOK AHEAD TO THE OVERALL PROJECT CONNECT MODEL.
UM, AS WE DO TWO THINGS WE WANT TO LOOK AT UPDATING THE DESIGN COST ESTIMATES ON THE ONE SIDE OF THE, OF THE BALANCED, AND THEN ALSO LOOKING AT NEW AND ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL REVENUE DRIVERS THAT WE CAN ADD TO THE MIX.
AND I THINK RANDY TALKED ABOUT THIS ON THE FRONT END WITH SOME OF THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE WITH WHEN WE'RE, WHEN COLLECTIVELY WE'RE TRACKING POTENTIALLY NEW, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FROM A REVENUE PERSPECTIVE, BUT ON THE COST DRIVERS SIDE.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S BEEN TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT AS DAVE WENT THROUGH HIS PROGRAM UPDATE, WE'RE GOING THROUGH OUR FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE'RE GOING THROUGH OUR ENGINEERING PROGRESSION, THE NORMAL STEPS TO GO NOW TOWARDS 15% DESIGN AND STILL WORK TO DO AS WE MOVE AHEAD, THERE'S DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES THAT NEED TO BE DISCUSSED.
UM, CLEARLY EVEN TODAY, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE TUNNEL LENGTH AND PERHAPS SOME CHOICES AS WE GO AND CONTINUE TO TALK TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THAT.
UM, A BIG ISSUE AROUND THE COMPLETE STREETS AS WE GO THROUGH AND WORK WITH THE CITY ON, UH, DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF, UH, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE LIGHT RAIL LINES, WORKING THROUGH THE COMPLETE STREETS PROCESS AS PART OF THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, UH, RIGHT AWAY ACQUISITIONS.
UM, ALSO TOUCHED ON THE COSTS AROUND THOSE.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ASSESSING THOSE AND UNDERSTANDING THOSE SAME WITH THE CONSTRUCTION, LABOR MATERIAL INFLATION AND COST AND WHERE WE ARE HERE IN, UH, IN, IN, IN KIND OF THE END OF THE SUMMER OF 2021.
UM, AND IT ALL COMES TOGETHER TO, AS WE ASSESS OUR CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGIES, UH, IT WAS MENTIONED THAT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS AND ONE OF OUR NEXT SOLICITATIONS THAT WILL BE OUT ON THE STREET, UM, UH, POST, UH, ADOPTION OF A POLICY, WE'LL BE BRINGING IN A COMMERCIAL RISK AND ADVISORY FIRM TO HELP US ASSESS MANY ASPECTS OF OUR PROGRAM.
BUT MOST OF ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT IS UNDERSTANDING OUR BEST CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY AS IT RELATES TO RISK, IT RELATES TO IMPLEMENTATION.
SO WE CAN BE AS, AS EFFICIENT AS WE CAN WITH OUR RESOURCES, BUT ALSO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING THINGS, UH, AS, AS, UM, ABIDING BY OUR, UH, BY THE DB GOALS AND MAKING SURE WE CAN, UH, GET AS MUCH AS WE CAN ON THAT ROLE AS WELL.
SO THAT'LL BE A KEY AREA THAT WE'LL BRING THAT AFFIRMING TO HELP US WITH THAT.
AND THEN AS WE MOVE FORWARD ON THE, ON THE JOINT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT, UH, DECISIONS AND, AND ELEMENTS THAT ARE PART OF THAT WILL BE PART OF OUR COSTS, UH, ESTIMATED UPDATED ON THE REVENUE SIDE, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING, AS WE MENTIONED ABOUT FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, POTENTIALLY SOME STATE FUNDING IS THEY'RE LOOKING AT INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING, REGIONAL FUNDING, AND, AND A KEY AREA FOR US IS CONTINUING PARTNERSHIP FUNDING, BOTH WITH, UM, UH, BOTH, UH, PRIVATE AND
[02:20:01]
PUBLIC PUBLIC, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FROM A PARTNERING PERSPECTIVE.WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE LEVERAGING CAUSE WHAT WE'LL BE BUILDING, UH, IS A TRANSIT SYSTEM THAT INTERACTS WITH ALL OF THOSE.
AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE AS MANY REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES AS WE CAN, AND THAT WORK WILL CONTINUE.
SO WHAT DOES THAT LEAD US TO? UM, SO NEXT MONTH AT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING, WE ANTICIPATE COMING BACK, UH, TO DO A, KIND OF A MORE THOROUGH, UH, CURRENT PROGRAM UPDATE, UM, KIND OF, UH, SUPERSIZE WHAT, UH, WHAT DAVE TYPICALLY DOES IN THE FRONT END OF THE PRESENTATION.
AND THEN LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR, LOOKING AT A MUCH MORE THOROUGH PROGRAM UPDATE AT THAT POINT WITH WHAT WE HAVE FOR 30% DESIGN FOR THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINES AND ALL OF THE WORK THAT GOES INTO THAT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT SOME OF THESE COST DRIVERS THAT WE'VE MENTIONED HERE.
AND AGAIN, THAT WE'LL GO THROUGH MORE THOROUGHLY IN SEPTEMBER.
SO, AND THAT'S JUST CONTEXT BEFORE WE GET TO THIS YEAR'S BUDGET TO REMIND EVERYONE OUR BUDGET THAT WE DO EACH YEAR IS REALLY ABOUT MOVING FORWARD AND PROGRESSING ON, UM, ADHERING TO WHAT THE VOTERS SAID TO DO WITH THE VOTE AND THE SEQUENCING PLAN, UM, RELATED TO, UH, THE TAX RATE ELECTION AND ULTIMATELY IMPLEMENTING PROJECT CONNECT.
SO IN THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, NOW I WANT TO SPEND JUST A QUICK, BEFORE WE GET TO DIANE'S FUND PROPOSED BUDGET, I WANT TO GO OVER A COUPLE OF TOPICS AROUND PROPERTY TAXES.
IT'S PROBABLY THE NUMBER ONE QUESTION THAT I'VE HAD IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS IS, UH, PROPERTY TAX, UH, IN MY OLD DAYS, IN MY OLD WAY, WAY BACK, ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO, I USED TO LIVE AND SLEEP AND BREATHE PROPERTY TAX RATES AND CALCULATIONS.
AND, UM, LUCKILY I DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT TOO MUCH ANYMORE, BUT, UM, WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT OTHER RULES ABOUT IT, AND THEN NOT TO GO THROUGH ALL THE DETAILS OF THIS.
BUT I THINK THE QUESTION IS, IS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT LAND VALUES.
WE ALL SEE CRANES, NOT EVEN JUST DOWNTOWN.
WE SEE CRANES EVERYWHERE AND THE NORMAL NATURAL REACTION IS, WOW, THIS MUST BE GREAT.
WE'RE GOING TO THE, REVENUE'S GOING TO BE COMING IN A HIGHER THAN WE EXPECT.
AND WE EXPECT IT, UM, IN TEXAS AND THE STATE OF TEXAS, UM, IT'S ACTUALLY FAIRLY SIMPLE.
UM, UH, THE, WE, THE, THE, THE PROPERTY TAX REVENUE THAT THE CITY COLLECTS OF WHICH 20% IS DEDICATED TO ATP, UH, EACH YEAR, UM, THAT IS REALLY THE AMOUNT OF THAT REVENUE IS DICTATED BY STATE LAW.
AND EACH YEAR THAT REVENUE CAN ONLY GO UP THREE AND A HALF PERCENT.
SO REALLY THERE'S A BALANCING ACT BETWEEN PROPERTY VALUES AND REVENUE GROWTH.
AND WHAT SPITS OUT IS A TAX RATE.
UM, UH, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CITIES HAVE TO DO AND THE COUNTIES HAVE TO DO ALL AROUND THE STATE.
SO REALLY WHAT YOU DO IS YOU CALCULATE YOUR REVENUE, THAT YOU CAN GROW.
UM, YOU GET YOUR VALUATION FROM THE INDEPENDENT APPRAISAL BOARDS, AND THEN YOU DO THE CALCULATION TO SPIT OUT A TAX RATE, AND WE GET THREE AND A HALF PERCENT MORE REVENUE.
AND, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THAT IS WHAT OUR INTEGRATED MODEL IS BASED ON.
UM, THE GREAT RESULTS OF THIS TRE THAT PUTS US AS A AND HERE IN AUSTIN IN A, IN A GREAT POSITION IS BECAUSE OF THE, REALLY THE, THE, THIS, THIS PROPERTY TAX REVENUE SOURCE IS VERY, UM, UH, COMES WITH VERY FEW SHOCKS TO IT.
UM, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE BIG DECLINES IN IT.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE BIG UPSIDES ON IT EITHER, BUT THAT, THAT STEADY REVENUE SOURCE IS REALLY CRITICAL TO OUR OVERALL MODEL IS REALLY CRITICAL TO US ISSUING THE BONDS THAT WE NEED TO DO TO FINANCE THIS PROJECT.
SO IT COMES WITH A GREAT ASSURANCE, BUT IT DOESN'T COME WITH, UH, THESE GREAT UPSIDES THAT YOU SEE, PERHAPS IN SOMETIMES SALES TAX.
I WILL SAY THAT WE DO GET, WE DO SEE NEW VALUES COMING IN, AND THEN WE DO GET ADDITIONAL, A LITTLE BIT EXTRA REVENUE EACH YEAR, HOWEVER, THAT IS ALREADY BAKED INTO THE MODEL.
UM, OUR MODEL WILL ALWAYS BE, WE WANT TO BE CONSERVATIVE ABOUT THAT, BUT IF NEW REVENUE IS COMING IN ABOVE AND BEYOND OR NEW PROPERTIES COMING ON, THE TAX ROLL ARE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, UM, THAN WE FACTORED IN, WE STILL GET THOSE FUNDS.
UM, AGAIN, IT COMES TO THE CALCULATION OF THE CITY.
SO THAT'S ONE PIECE OF THE, THE PROPERTY TAX CALCULATION.
AND THE OTHER ONE WE WANTED TO TALK TO ON THE NEXT SLIDE WAS THE, UM, THE, AND THIS IS REALLY JUST SHOWING YOU THE EXAMPLE OF, REGARDLESS OF IF A PROPERTY VALUE INCREASES 10% OR 25%, THE TAX RATE GOES DOWN AND OUR REVENUE STAYS THE SAME.
IF THE PROPERTY VALUE DECREASES 10 OR 25% TAX RATES GO UP AND OUR REVENUE COMES THE SAME.
SO IN THE END, WE WANT IT TO JUST ILLUSTRATE WITH YOU.
WE ARE, WE ARE, IT IS, AS THE CALCULATIONS ARE DONE, YOU ARE DRIVING TO A REVENUE NUMBER, NOT TO A TAX RATE NUMBER, UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THE OTHER COPIC THAT HAS COME UP IS ABOUT HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION IN THE CITY, UM, ON SOMETIMES ROUTINE BASIS, LOOKS AT THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION.
THIS IS ENTIRELY IN THE PURVIEW OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, RECENTLY THEY HAVE, UH, INCREASED THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION.
THIS IS IF YOU'RE A HOMEOWNER, UH, WHAT YOUR TOTAL TAXABLE BILL WOULD BE YOUR TAXABLE VALUE VERSUS THE MARKET VALUE OF YOUR HOME.
[02:25:01]
THEY HAVE MADE SOME CHANGES TO THIS.I THINK THE NET TO, TO ATP AND THE NET TO THE CITY IS AS WELL AS THAT DOES NOT CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT WE'RE BRINGING IN.
IT JUST SHIFTS OVERALL FROM THE OVERALL PROPERTIES WITHIN THE CITY BETWEEN COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL OR THE EXEMPTIONS ABOUT HOW THE SHARE OF THE OVERALL REVENUE IS DONE, UM, AT THAT THREE AND A HALF REVENUE GROWTH EACH YEAR.
SO AGAIN, UH, THE CHANGE IN THAT HAS NO IMPACT, UH, OF OUR REVENUE COMING IN, UM, FROM THE PROPOSITION, A REVENUE, UH, ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, JUST, THIS IS KIND OF ONE OF MY LAST ONE BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO DIANE.
UM, AND, UH, AND ALL THE WORK THAT HER AND HER STAFF AND THE REALLY THE FULL TEAM HAVE WORKED ON PUTTING TOGETHER THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE MODEL THAT WE HAVE, UM, AND THAT WE'RE GONNA COME BACK AND UPDATE AS WE LOOK AT DIFFERENT, UH, COST DRIVERS AND REVENUE DRIVERS.
THIS IS REALLY THE ONE THAT JUST HELPS US ANALYZE AND COMPILE WHAT WE'RE DOING, BOTH LOOKING BACKWARDS AND LOOKING FORWARD.
UM, AND IT'S REALLY A NECESSARY AND REALLY A BEST PRACTICE FROM, UH, FROM DOING SCENARIO PLANNING AND BUDGET AND ASSET MANAGEMENT AND HOW WE DO OUR RATES AND HOW WE DO OUR CASH FLOWS.
UM, IT'S REALLY A STANDARD TOOL THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE IN, IN GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND GOVERNMENT BUDGET.
THE MODEL THEN REALLY HELPS US DO WHAT IS THE BUDGET? THE BUDGET IS THE OUTPUT OF THE MODEL, UM, AND IT REPRESENTS THE TARGET EXPENSES FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THIS SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR FISCAL YEAR AND FOR ATP, WHAT WILL BE OUR MULTI-YEAR CAPITAL BUDGET AS WELL.
UM, SO THEY WORK HAND IN HAND TOGETHER.
A BUDGET IS ALSO A ROADMAP AND A TEMPLATE FOR OUR YEAR IN TERMS OF MANAGING OUR RESOURCES AND MANAGING, UH, THE REVENUE AND EXPENSES THAT WE PUT IN FRONT OF THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL.
UM, SO, SO WITH THAT, UM, LIKE IT STOPPED AND IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PIECES I WENT THROUGH BEFORE I HAND IT OVER TO DIANE, MAYBE PERHAPS THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT, BUT IF NOT, WE COULD HAVE DIANE GO THROUGH THE FULL, UM, UH, THE PROPOSED BUDGET PRESENTATION, WHICH AGAIN, WE'RE REAL EXCITED TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO GO THROUGH THAT WITH YOU IN THE COMMUNITY TODAY.
THANK YOU, MR. KELLY, DO WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH QUESTIONS OR DO WE HAVE MS. SILER COME NEXT.
SO, UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR BOARD MEMBERS, UH, AS GREG HAS MENTIONED, YES, I AM VERY EXCITED TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY.
ATPS PROPOSED BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR, A FEW MINUTES AGO, MAYBE ABOUT AN HOUR AGO, I SENT OUT AN EMAIL TO EACH OF YOU WITH THE BUDGET DOCUMENT ATTACHED.
SO THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION IS TO DISCUSS WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THAT DOCUMENT YOU RECEIVED.
UM, AND THEN WHEN WE COME BACK NEXT MONTH, UH, IT IS THAT BUDGET DOCUMENT THAT WE'LL BE ASKING YOU TO APPROVE.
UM, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE NUMBERS, I DO YOU WANT TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES SHARING WITH YOU THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS BUDGET.
SO AS YOU KNOW, OUR EARLIEST PROJECTS TO COME ONLINE HAVE BEEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD CIRCULATORS.
UH, NEXT YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO BE PROVIDING CAPITAL METRO WITH $2.2 MILLION TO OPERATE THESE THREE NEW SERVICE AREAS.
UM, AND AS YOU'VE HEARD FROM VICKI, OUR PROCUREMENT STAFF HAVE BEEN JUST AS BUSY AS OUR HR STAFF.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THE WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING ON THE PROCUREMENT POLICY, UH, THEY, THEY DID HOLD THEIR FIRST PRE-BID MEETING FOR LEGAL SERVICES.
UM, THAT WAS VERY WELL ATTENDED.
AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A SCOPE FOR A NUMBER OF NEW CONTRACTS, INCLUDING THE ONE GREG MENTIONED FOR THE COMMERCIAL RISK AND ADVISORY SERVICES, FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES.
SO WE ALSO ANTICIPATING ANTICIPATE ISSUING CONTRACTS FOR COMMERCIAL AND BANKING SERVICES IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
AND AS YOU'VE HEARD FROM DAVE, UH, CONSTRUCTION IS EXPECTED TO START ON BOTH THE PLEASANT VALLEY AND THE EXPO METRO RAPID LINES, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE FOLLOWED CLOSELY.
WE HOPE BY FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENTS FROM THE FTA SIMULTANEOUSLY STAFF WILL BE DOING THE DESIGN WORK FOR RELATED PARK AND RIDE LOCATIONS AND INLINE CHARGING STATIONS.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE, BE BEGINNING CONSTRUCTION ON THE MCCULLOUGH AND BROADMORE RAIL STATION AND THE LANDER AND LAKE LINE DOUBLE TRACKING INSIDE.
MEANWHILE, OUR VEHICLES TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING ON DEVELOPING THE CONTRACTUAL AND THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE PURCHASE OF OUR ROLLING STOCK.
AND THAT'S IN ANTICIPATION OF ISSUING AN RFP FOR THE REAL VEHICLES BY THE SECOND QUARTER OF FYI, 22, ANOTHER AREA THAT'S GOING TO SEE SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY IN
[02:30:01]
FYI.IN ADDITION TO WORKING WITH OUR PROCUREMENT STAFF FOR CONSULTING SERVICES, UM, COVERING BASICALLY ALL AREAS OF THE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION.
THEY'RE WORKING TO IDENTIFY EARLY OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACQUISITIONS.
AND, UM, AS MENTIONED BY RANDY, THEY NEED TO COMPLETE THE REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT PLAN, WHICH IS A REQUIRED ASPECT OF RECEIVING AN FDA GRANT AND GRANT AWARD SLIDE, PLEASE.
NOW, AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THE HEAD, THE END OF OUR NEXT FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HITTING THE 30% DESIGN FOR THE ORANGE AND THE BLUE LINES.
AND FOR ISSUING THAT DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PUBLIC REVIEW.
UM, LIKEWISE WE ANTICIPATE ADVANCING OUR FACILITIES PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING STUDIES AND BEGINNING OF THE RELATED, UH, NEBA PROCESS.
SO LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, UM, FYI 22 SHOULD SEE ATP COMPLETE ITS INITIAL GROWTH PHASE.
WE EXPECT TO HIRE, UH, AN ADDITIONAL 40 PLUS STAFF MEMBERS MOVE INTO THAT NEW DEDICATED PROJECT CONNECT, UM, PROGRAM OFFICE THAT RANDY MENTIONED AND THEN DEVELOP OUR HUMAN, UH, NO CR FINANCIAL HUMAN RESOURCES AND OUR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, UM, SOFTWARE SYSTEMS. SO WE ARE LOOKING TO START
NOW UNDER THE NUMBERS, OUR BUDGET FOR FY 22 IS $312.2 MILLION, NEARLY $154 MILLION IS GOING TO COME FROM THE PORTION OF THE PROPERTY TAX THAT IS DEDICATED TO PROJECT CONNECT.
UH, CAPITAL METRO WILL BE CONTRIBUTING A $23.4 MILLION, WHICH REPRESENTS 8% OF OUR TOTAL FUNDING.
AND THEN THE FINAL ONE, UH, $135 MILLION THAT WE NEED TO FUND OUR, OUR PROJECT COSTS FOR FYI 22 WILL COME FROM THE FUNDS RESERVED FROM THIS YEAR'S ALLOCATION OF PROPERTY TAX FUNDING.
AND THAT AS, AS WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED NEXT SLIDE.
SO BEFORE I GET INTO THE USES OF FUNDS SECTION OF THE PRESENTATION, I, I DO WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OPERATING AND THE CAPITAL BUDGETS.
UM, FIRST AND GENERALLY MOST NOTABLY THE OPERATING BUDGETS ARE ANNUAL SOMETIMES BY ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS.
UM, AND AT THE END OF THAT DEFINED PERIOD, THOSE BUDGETS ARE ZEROED OUT AND ALL OF THAT SURPLUS FUNDS, UM, GET INCORPORATED INTO SUBSEQUENT BUDGETS.
SO IN CONTRAST THOUGH, CAPITAL BUDGETS OR MULTI-YEAR APPROACH APPROPRIATIONS, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THE BUDGET IS SET AND IT REMAINS IN EXISTENCE UNTIL THE PROJECT IS COMPLETE.
SO ALSO ANNUAL BUDGETS ARE USED TO FUND THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS.
UH, GENERALLY THE COSTS NECESSARY TO OPERATE, MANAGE, MAINTAIN A PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
ALSO INCLUDED IN AN OPERATING BUDGET WOULD BE, UM, GENERAL REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE FOR EXISTING ASSETS.
NOW, CAPITAL THE CAPITAL BUDGET.
ON THE OTHER HAND, UM, ARE USED TO FUND THE CREATION RENOVATION, THE UPGRADE FOR, UM, CAPITAL ASSETS LIKE, UH, LIKE THE RAIL LINES FACILITIES AND VEHICLES, ATPS FUNDING SOURCES FOR THE OPERATING BUDGET COME FROM THE, UM, THE TAXES, THE PARTNER CONTRIBUTIONS AND FAIRS.
SO WE CAN ALSO USE THOSE FEIN, SAME FUNDING SOURCES TO FUND CAPITAL BUDGETS, AND WE DO SO THROUGH A TRANSFER FROM THE OPERATING BUDGET INTO THE CAPITAL BUDGET, BUT WITH THE CAPITAL BUDGET, WE ALSO CAN ISSUE DEBT, TAKE OUT LOANS AND RECEIVE RECEIVE GRANTS.
SO THESE NEXT TWO SLIDES ARE GOING TO SHOW YOU HOW WE'RE USING THE $312 MILLION.
THIS FIRST SLIDE IS THE EXPENDITURE, THE, THIS FIRST SLIDE, THE ARE BEING SHOWN BY COST CATEGORY.
AND THEN IN THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU THE EXPENSES IN THE MORE TRADITIONAL WAY THAT YOU'VE GOTTEN ACCUSTOMED TO SEEING THEM BY, BY OUR VARIOUS PROJECTS.
SO IT'S JUST, IT'S THE SAME SET OF DATA.
I'M JUST ARRANGING IT USING INDIFFERENT, UM, CRITERIA IN ORDER TO GIVE YOU A, A FULL PICTURE OF THE BUDGET.
UNSURPRISINGLY, OVER HALF OF OUR BUDGET, $173 MILLION WILL BE USED FOR CAPITAL CONTRACTS AND RIGHT AWAY ACQUISITIONS.
AND THEN ANOTHER NEARLY 20% OR, UM, $59 MILLION WILL BE USED TO REIMBURSE CAPITAL METRO FOR THE EXPENSES THAT THEY WILL BE INCURRING ON BEHALF OF PROJECT CONNECT.
AND THAT'S NAMELY THE METRO RAPID AND
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RED LINE PROJECTS.$42 MILLION WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE CITY FOR THEIR ANTI-DISPLACEMENT INVESTMENTS.
A TOTAL OF $5.2 MILLION IS GOING TO BE PROVIDED TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAPITAL METRO FOR SUPPORT.
SO THERE'S A $2.4 MILLION INCLUDED TO FUND THE PROJECT CONNECT SUPPORT OFFICE WITH THE CITY.
AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER $2.8 MILLION FOR SERVICES SUCH AS IT ACCOUNTING AND MARKETING THAT ARE BEING PROVIDED TO ATP FROM CAPITOL METRO.
AS I MENTIONED IN THE HIGHLIGHTS, WE'LL BE TRANSFERRING TO CAPITAL METRO $2.2 MILLION TO OPERATE THE NEW PICKUP SERVICE ROUTES.
AND THEN FINALLY THE LAST 10% OF OUR BUDGET, OR JUST OVER $30 MILLION WILL FUND, UM, SALARIES, OUR LEASE OPERATING CONTRACTS AND OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ALSO INCLUDED IN THAT NUMBER IS $1 MILLION FOR AN OPERATING CONTINGENCY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS GREG POINTED OUT, THIS IS OUR FIRST FULL YEAR OF OPERATIONS.
AND SO WE ARE STILL IN THE RIGHTSIZING PHASE OF, OF BUDGETING.
AND SO WE WANTED TO GIVE OURSELVES A LITTLE BIT OF ROOM IN CASE WE GOT SOME OF THE ASSUMPTIONS UP A LITTLE WRONG, NEXT SLIDE.
SO HERE, HERE ARE THE NUMBERS SEEN IN A DIFFERENT, UH, VIEW THE $312 MILLION WILL BE SPLIT 86% INTO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS, 13% INTO THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT INITIATIVES.
AND THAT IT LEAVES ANOTHER 1% FOR THE, UM, OPERATIONS TRANSFER TO CAPITAL METRO, THE OPERATING CONTINGENCY I JUST SPOKE OF AND SOME OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES THAT ARE NOT APPLICABLE INTO THE, UM, CAPITAL PROJECTS.
SO WHAT I WANT TO NOTE, WHAT, WHAT I WANT TO NOTE IS IMPORTANT ON THIS SLIDE IS THAT ALL OF OUR CAPITAL, UM, 80, OH, SORRY.
ALL OF THE ATP OVERHEAD IS, UM, EMBEDDED AND INCORPORATED INTO THESE CAPITAL PROJECTS AS IS ANY DIRECT SALARY, UM, OR OTHER DIRECT EXPENSES.
AND IT'S THIS NEXT SLIDE THAT I'M GOING TO GO INTO WHERE I'LL TALK ABOUT HOW WE MANAGE TO GET THAT, UM, KIND OF PROCESS DONE.
I'M JUST GOING TO GO INTO THIS AND GET A LITTLE WONKY ON YOU.
UM, THE MAJORITY OF ATPS AGENCY COSTS, UM, THOSE COSTS THAT ARE NOT DIRECTLY TIED TO A SPECIFIC CAPITAL PROJECT ARE CONSIDERED OVERHEAD OR INDIRECT COSTS.
AND THEY INCLUDE THINGS LIKE, UM, LABOR, RENT, UTILITIES, COMPUTER SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, STAFF DEVELOPMENT, ET CETERA.
UM, ALSO INCLUDED IN THAT POOL OF, UH, EXPENSES ARE THE REIMBURSEMENTS TO CAPITOL METRO AND TO THE CITY FOR THE SUPPORT SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE US.
SO IN ORDER TO GET THESE CAPITAL IN ORDER TO GET THESE COSTS INTO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT THEY SUPPORT, WE USE WHAT'S CALLED AN A COST ALLOCATION PLAN.
UM, THE FIRST STEP OF THE PROCESS IS TO IDENTIFY THOSE COSTS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO BE CHARGED TO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS.
AND THEN THE NEXT STEP OF THE, OF THE PLAN IS TO THEN ALLOCATE THOSE COSTS TO EACH PROJECT BASED ON A PREDEFINED METRIC.
SO FOR OUR ALLOCATION PLAN, THE METRIC WE'RE USING IS THE TOTAL ANNUAL SPENDING BY EACH PROJECT.
SO IF I WERE TO SWITCH BACK TO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, THERE IS A SMALL SLICE.
CLEARLY, THERE'S A SMALL SLICE THAT SMALL SLIVER OF $3.7 MILLION.
UM, THAT IS ACTUALLY THE PORTION OF ATPS OPERATING BUDGET THAT IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ALLOCATION.
UM, SO THE REST OF THE $35 MILLION OF WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE OPERA WOULD HAVE BEEN THE OPERATING BUDGET ALLOCATION OR A $31.3 MILLION IS THEN MOVED OUT OF THE OPERATING BUDGET AND ALLOCATED INTO THE CAPITAL BUDGET.
SO THE BOTTOM HALF OF THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE COMPONENTS OF THE, BOTH THE OPERATING AND THE CAPITAL BUDGET.
THE, UM, AS I MENTIONED, THE OPERATING BUDGET HAS THE NON-APPLICABLE OVERHEAD COSTS, UM, THE TRANSFER TO CAP METRO FOR THE OPERATIONS AND THEN THE CON THE OPERATING CONTINGENCY, WHEREAS THE CAPITAL BUDGET HAS, UM, THE OVERHEAD COSTS THAT HAVE BEEN, HAVE BEEN PUSHED IN THROUGH THE ALLOCATION PLAN, UH, CONTRACTS RIGHT AWAY ACQUISITIONS AND DIRECT STAFF CHARGES.
SO IN THE FUTURE YEARS, UM, THIS IS ALSO GOING TO INCLUDE CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING COSTS.
UH, JUST AS A NOTE, BEFORE I LEAVE THIS SLIDE, THIS COST ALLOCATION PLAN WILL NEED TO BE APPROVED BY THE FTA.
AND WE PLAN ON HAVING THAT HAPPEN MID, UM, FYI 22
[02:40:04]
SIDE, PLEASE.SO NOW I JUST WANT TO SHIFT OUR FOCUS SLOPE SOLELY TO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS, UM, BACK TO THE $266.5 MILLION THAT WE ANTICIPATE SPENDING OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
THE PREVIOUSLY I MENTIONED, SORRY, I'M GETTING A CALL.
UM, PREVIOUSLY I MENTIONED THAT A KEY ATTRIBUTE TO CAPITAL PROJECTS IS MULTI-YEAR APPROPRIATIONS.
UM, AND GENERALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS NOT ONLY IS THE BUDGET AVAILABLE OVER THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT, BUT ALSO THAT THE TOTAL PROJECT IS BUDGETED UPFRONT.
UM, AND THIS HELPS TO ENSURE THAT LIKE LARGE CONTRACTS WITH THAT SPAN, UM, MULTIPLE FISCAL YEARS CAN BE FULLY ENCUMBERED.
SO, HOWEVER, FOR FYI 22, WE'RE ONLY GOING TO BE REQUESTING APPROPRIATIONS EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT THAT WE PLAN ON SPENDING NEXT YEAR.
AND THIS IS SIMPLY BECAUSE WE ARE STILL IN THE DESIGN PHASE FOR THE BOWLER PROJECTS.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE LACK SUFFICIENT INFORMATION FOR WHICH TO BUDGET THE ENTIRE PROJECT COST AT THIS TIME.
UM, I DO EXPECT THAT THE BUDGET THAT YOU RECEIVED NEXT YEAR WILL INCLUDE CAPITAL APPROPRIATIONS, MUCH CLOSER TO THE TOTAL PROJECT COSTS.
AND THEREFORE NEXT YEAR'S CAPITAL BUDGET WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER.
SO OF OUR TOTAL CAPITAL BUDGET, 57% IS GOING TO BE FOR THE ORANGE AND THE BLUE LINES, $92.8 MILLION AND $82.8 MILLION RESPECTIVELY.
UM, THE, UH, AS BOTH RANDY AND DAVID MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE'VE OFFICIALLY BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
SO THAT MEANS THAT THESE FUNDS NOW WE'LL BE TRACKING IN OUR, UM, CAN POTENTIALLY BE REIMBURSED OR A PORTION OF THEM CAN BE POTENTIALLY REIMBURSED.
ONCE WE RECEIVE A FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT, THE BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES $13.5 MILLION FOR THE RED LINES MCCOLLOUGH STATION AND THE FUNDING FOR THE BROADMORE STATION AND THE LEANDER LAKE LINE TRACKING IS INCLUDED IN CAPITOL METRO'S BUDGET.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T SEE THEM LISTED HERE, UH, THE $42 MILLION OR THE METRO RAPID LINES THAT REPRESENTS THE LOCAL FUNDED NEEDED LOCAL FUNDING NEEDED IN FYI 22.
FOR THESE PROJECTS, WE DO PLAN ON GETTING THE FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENTS AWARDED FOR THE PLEASANT VALLEY AND EX-POST LINES TO COVER THE REMAINING FYI TWENTY-TWO COSTS.
UM, AND THEN THE REMAINING $35.5 MILLION, UM, IN OUR CAPITAL BUDGET WILL BE USED FOR DESIGN WORK ON PARK AND RIDES, DESIGNING AND BUILDING, UH, DESIGNING AND BEGINNING TO BUILD OUT OF THE ELECTRIFICATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND THEN DEVELOPING THE FACILITIES PLAN.
SO THE FINAL PIECE ATPS BUDGET IS THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUNDS, UM, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM TRANSPARENCY, WE'RE TRACKING THESE FUNDS SEPARATELY.
UM, WHAT'S SHOWN HERE IS, IS THE FUND SUMMARY FOR, FOR THOSE FUNDS.
SO PROCEDURALLY WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IS THAT THE FUNDS ARE GOING TO BE DEPOSITED INTO OUR OPERATING FUND.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO BE TRANSFERRING, UM, A SEPARATELY INTO THIS FUND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ILA THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY.
AND JUST AS A REMINDER ON THAT ILA SET FORTH A 13 YEAR PAYMENT SCHEDULE, UM, WHICH WAS ALIGNMENT WITH OUR SEQUENCING PLAN.
SO IT WAS, UH, 23 MILLION THIS YEAR, 42, NEXT 35 AND FYI 23 AND THEN $20 MILLION ANNUALLY FOR THE SUBSEQUENT 10 YEARS.
AND SO PAYMENTS WHICH ARE BASED ON ACTUAL EXPENDITURES WILL THEN BE MADE OUT OF THIS FUND TO THE CITY.
SO IN
UM, HOWEVER, THE CITY HAS SAID THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO EXPAND ANY OF THIS YEAR'S ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.
SO I'VE UPDATED OUR ENDING BALANCE FOR 21, AND NOW THOSE FUNDS BECOME AVAILABLE FOR USE IN FYI 22.
SO THE CITY WILL HAVE AVAILABLE TO IT NOT ONLY THIS YEAR'S ALLOTMENT, BUT IT WILL ALSO HAVE THE $42 MILLION AVAILABLE TO IT NEXT YEAR, BRINGING THE TOTAL FUNDING TO $65 MILLION.
UM, AND I HAVE CHECKED WITH THE CITY AND THESE FUNDS HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THEIR APPROVED BY PLEASE MOVING ON TO THE FINANCIAL POLICIES INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT IN THE APPENDIX SECTION IS A SET OF 20 FINANCIAL POLICIES COVERING ACCOUNTING AND BUDGETING, PURCHASING, UM, INVESTMENTS AND DEBT MANAGEMENT.
UM, ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET WILL ALSO INCLUDE ADOPTION OF THESE
[02:45:01]
POLICIES.I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT EVERY YEAR THESE POLICIES WILL BE EVALUATED AND UPDATED TO ENSURE THAT THEY REMAIN RELEVANT AND CONSISTENT WITH BEST PRACTICES AND CONSISTENT WITH ATP'S GROWTH.
UM, IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT FINANCIAL POLICIES ARE NOT JUST A BEST PRACTICE AND THEY'RE NOT JUST CORE TO SOLID FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.
THEY'RE ALSO AN IMPORTANT DETERMINANT IN OUR CREDIT RATING AND DEBT WORTHINESS, AND THEREFORE THEY CAN HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE AMOUNT OF INTEREST WE PAY AS WE SERVICE OUR DEBT.
I WANT TO REVISIT OUR TIMELINE.
UM, TODAY MARKS YOUR THIRD OFFICIAL BUDGET TOUCH POINT.
UH, THE FOURTH AND FINAL OFFICIAL STEP WILL BE WHEN YOU APPROVE THE BUDGET, HOPEFULLY, UM, ON, UH, SEPTEMBER 15TH NEXT MONTH, HOWEVER, BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, UM, I WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE, AND PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO ME.
ALSO, IN THE MEANTIME, I'LL BE SHARING THE SAME INFORMATION WITH THE FINANCE AND RISK ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING THAT COMMITTEE AT TOMORROW'S INAUGURAL MEETING AND STAFF BEGIN THE PROCESS OF PREPARING OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEM FOR GO LIVE ON OCTOBER 1ST, NEXT TIME.
SO YOU ALL HAVE RECEIVED A COPY OF OUR BUDGET DOCUMENT AND THE PUBLIC CAN ACCESS IT VIA OUR WEBSITE AT THIS LOCATION.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING SOME OF YOUR TIME WITH ME THIS AFTERNOON.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. SILER FOR A GREAT PRESENTATION.
AND, UM, I'M SURE THERE'LL BE SOME QUESTIONS, BUT ONCE TO START TONY, THANKS.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DIANE AND GREG FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH THAT IN TOMORROW'S FINANCIAL AND RISK COMMITTEE, UH, INAUGURAL MEETING.
SO WE'LL GO THROUGH THAT IN MORE DETAIL AND THEN NEXT MONTH THE BOARD WILL APPROVE THE BUDGET.
UM, ONE THING THAT I, I DO THINK IS IMPORTANT AND OBVIOUSLY I'M SURE YOU FOLKS DO, AND I HAVEN'T READ THE PROPOSED BUDGET THAT YOU SENT, BUT I'LL TAKE A LOOK AT IT AS IS QUARTERLY UPDATES, QUARTERLY BUDGET TO ACTUAL UPDATES TO THE BOARD.
SO I'M SURE THAT THAT'S PLANNING TO BE DONE, BUT I DO MENTION THAT AS SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD WILL BE LOOKING TO RECEIVE EVERY QUARTER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ON TRACK AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'LL BE DEVIATIONS IN THE BUDGET TO BE EXPECTED, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS WE UNDERSTAND WHY I'M SURE THAT'LL BE COOL, BUT, UH, YEAH, LOOK FORWARD TO TOMORROW NIGHT'S MEETING.
AND, UM, TO YOUR POINT, WHEN YOU DO READ THE BUDGET DOCUMENT, IT'S GOING TO BE ONE OF THE FINANCIAL POLICIES IN THERE IS A, IS OUR QUARTERLY REPORTS TO THE BOARD.
THINK IT'S FIRST THREE QUARTERS, 45 DAYS AFTER MONTH CLOSE.
AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS A, UH, BECAUSE IT'S THE, THE END OF THE YEAR.
IT'S A 60 DAY WINDOW IF I, IF I RECALL IT CORRECTLY.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS? SO WE HAVE ONE MORE, UM, FINAL DISCUSSION ITEM, AND I WANTED TO ASK THE BOARD IF WE CAN POSTPONE THIS FOR THE NEXT BOARD MEETING RELATED TO THE ECO SYSTEMS. UM, OUR COLLEAGUE, UH, DR.
BURNETT HAD TO GIVE A PRESENTATION FOR HER STUDENTS HAS TODAY'S MOVING DAY FOR HOUSTON TILLOTSON.
AND I THINK THAT ALL OF THIS TECHNICAL UPDATES FROM STAFF, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY, THEY WORKED SO HARD IN PREPARING THIS PRESENTATIONS, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THE ENTIRE BOARD PRESENT.
SO WHAT DO Y'ALL THINK, CAN WE MOVE THIS LAST, UM, ITEM FOR THE NEXT MEETING? WHAT, YEAH, I'M IN FAVOR OF IT BECAUSE I HAVE TO DROP OFF IN TWO MINUTES.
WELL, IF MR. KUBITSCHEK IS THEY'VE, COVID CHECK, UH, ALLOWING US TO GIVE THEM A LITTLE BIT OF A BREAK RECENT, THE NEXT SPORTS MEETING, UM, WE APPRECIATE HIS PATIENCE AND GETTING THROUGH ALL OF THIS, BUT THIS IS REALLY GREAT INFORMATION.
AND I KNOW THAT STAFF WORKS REALLY, REALLY HARD AND PUTTING ALL OF THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, UH, IF THERE'S NO, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION ITEMS, LIKE, LIKE EVERYONE FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND FOR ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS AS WE MOVE THIS PROGRAM FORWARD AND IN THE, FOR ALL OF THE COMMUNITY THAT HAS TO ATTEND AND WATCH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING SO INTERESTED IN THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM.
[Additional Item]
COMMENTS[02:50:01]
OR ANYTHING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS AT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING.UH, I JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY THANK THE, UH, TH THE CTM TEAM.
ARE THEY THEIR TECHNOLOGY TEAM THERE AT ATP? NO.
I HAD A FEW GLITCHES GETTING ON AT THE START OF THE MEETING, UH, BUT THEY ARE TERRIFIC AND THEY HAVE, THEY HANDLE EVERYTHING THAT, THAT WE NEED AND MAKE US, UH, TRANSPARENT FOR THE PUBLIC AS WELL.
I WOULD JUST MENTION A, UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE'D BE AN OAKLAND HOUSE SINCE SEPTEMBER, WE'LL GET AN INVITE OUT TO YOU ALL.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE WATCHING COVID, BUT ALSO WHEN WE CAN HAVE THE OPEN HOUSE AND AT THE NEW PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, AND SECOND, OBVIOUSLY WE'LL BE KEEPING AN EYE ON COVID, UH, THAT DETERMINE, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO JUST MEET IN PERSON NEXT TIME.
UH, THIS WAS A GOOD FIX, OBVIOUSLY FOR RIGHT NOW.
HOPEFULLY WE CAN ALL STAY SAFE, THIS COMMUNITY AND GET BACK TO MEETING IN PERSON NEXT MONTH.
WE'LL BE IN CONTACT ABOUT, UH, HOW THE RISK AND ALSO IF WE'RE EVEN LEGALLY BASED ON THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, I JUST REALLY, AGAIN, THANK THE BOARD FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND ATTENTION TO THIS CREDIBLY IMPORTANT PROGRAM AND, UH, LIKE THE STAFF AS USUAL.
THEY, AND I REALLY, REALLY SINCERELY, UM, APPRECIATE THE, THE BOARD MEMBERS WRITING GUIDES AND THE WORK OF THE STAFF.
THEY, UH, AGAIN, I JUST GET TO SIT HERE AND TALK.
THEY ARE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB.
YES, I, I CONCURRENT THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE STUFF.
UM, BOARD MEMBERS, STRATTON, YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, JUST GIVING TEARS TO THE STAFF, RIGHT.
THERE WAS A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE STAFF.
AND I KNOW PROBABLY, MAYBE RATHER WE'LL SEND IT BACK IN OUT WHEN WE'RE ADJOURNED THIS MEETING, BUT, UM, THIS CONCLUDES THE MEETING OF THE WELL PERFECT TIMING MAYOR.
WE'RE ABOUT TO CLOSE THE MEETING AND WE HAVE ONE OF THE ITEMS REGARDING THE, THE PEOPLE SYSTEMS FOR MR. UH, WOULD THEY PROBABLY CHECK FOR NEXT MEETING? EVERYONE CAN BE PRESENT.
AND I APPRECIATE IT THIS TIME THOUGH, THIS CONCLUDES.